No Faith in Destiny
by trista21
Summary: After wishing to be together for so long, a problem arises in Gaea that makes Van call Hitomi back again. Is it for love, or as a tool for war? Will they be together, or will a new foe tear them apart? V&H A.N:First few Ch's REALLY OLD. Gets better
1. a short beginning

Author's note: I've finally got around to actually putting my fan fic online. I wrote these first chapters when I first finished the series at the tender age of 14. I've decided to leave these chapters largely untouched by editing. I know it's a risk, but one I willing to make. I'm doing this in tribute to my many hours alone in my room, telling myself I will put this on I'll tell you ahead of time when I will begin the editing process. Sue me, I'm lazy. I hope you overlook the grammatical errors and read on. I will update as often as I can, and I assure you, It will get better. Enjoy.

P.s: I am 17 now. see how lazy I can be? Lol.

(I(I don't own Escaflowne, although I wish I did. I do own some of the characters in the story, and one character's name, but otherwise…oh, and the plot, but anyway, nothing else. I'm done with the disclaimer.)

Two years after the fall of the Zaibach empire and the beginning of the new age, a small, ancient country hidden like a green emerald deep in the Dragon forest was ruled by a great man.

The King was an essential player in the war years ago. He destroyed the machine that had covered the whole world in a blanket of chaos. He wouldn't give up his fight to bring back his broken country to greatness.

He was only a boy then, dominated by his constantly changing emotions, but now, he had changed.

Now that his country was almost back to normal, beginning to prosper again under his rule, he started to seem distant to the world around him. He was very kind to his people, and they respected him, but he acted as if he wasn't there sometimes, lost in his own thoughts.

There were many speculations, of course, to the young King's behavior. Some believed he was broken, somehow by the war, changed from pacifistic boy they knew to, a man of action and bloodshed, making him quiet and reserved. Others believed a different reason for his sudden change in demeanor.

Merle, a young cat girl something of a sister to him, told of a girl from the mystic moon. A girl with eyes the same color as the sweet grass that covered the nearby hills, a girl with the power to see the unseen. Some remembered the day she came to the castle.

"It was the same day Lord Van came home as king." Some of the peasants would remember fondly. "He looked happier with her here. What happened to that nice young lady?"

When Merle heard the people speaking of Hitomi this way, she could do nothing but hope, that the great light would shine in the sky, and bring Hitomi back to them… to him…

Merle sat up with a sigh. "Well I'd better go see what Lord Van's doing…"

Merle had lost track of time. She was on the roof of building near the edge of town, and ever since the sun had begun to set, she had been laying on the freshly patched roof, staring at the gradually darkening sky.

"Ok I'm at the Inn so...the castle shouldn't be too far." She said jumping off.

An old fat man with brown hair who was washing dishes below her looked up as Merle made a loud thump on the ground.

"Already going' back eh Merle?" He asked with a slight smile.

She looked up at him. "You don't mind do you, Jake? I want to see what Lord Van's doing right now. I'll be back in a bit for my shift okay?" She said with a toothy grin before dashing into a crowd in the street. She ran on all fours on the hard cobbled street, her now shoulder-length hair flinging against her back.

"I hope he isn't with Gothel." She growled, gust of wind blowing the back of her dress up.

Just the thought of the horrible man made her fur crawl. "I wish Van would fire him."

She was disappointed when she got there.

Out on the front lawn a middle-aged man and Van were having an argument about something.

She hurried down the grass, the night mist clinging to the fur by her shoes, chilling her.

She stopped next to Van and grabbed his arm. "Hi Van." She said aloud so Gothel could hear. She knew exactly how to make Gothel angry. Show she was superior to him. What better way then by showing affection to Van?

The man stopped talking, a look of deep disgust flashed across his aging face. Van greeted Merle fondly, patting her on the head affectionately, he asked,

"How are you today Merle?" Merle turned her head slightly to see Gothel's face at the remark. If looks could kill, she wagered she was already 6 ft under.

"Fine," she replied, pulling Van closer to her.

"Is there a problem with my decision, Gothel?" Van bellowed his sudden change of attitude was a bit unnerving, making Gothel take a step back.

Gothel was a handsome man for his age. He was already into his 40th year and had the build and character of a man of thirty. The only signs of age on the man's face was his gradually graying black hair and the heaviness in his deep blue eyes, a heavy burden showing through to the bags underneath them.

"I-I wasn't saying that my Lord, I was merely stating that –"

"That you think that I need to decide now on your daughter, Gothel. I apologize but I have already made my decision."

Merle looked up at Van. Despite the words he had spoken, he showed no sign of regret in his almond eyes. _What is he discussing? He can't have found someone else…can he? _The questions in her mind were growing, and in spite of herself, she asked, "Huh? What are you talking about Van?"

Van looked down at the young cat girl's questioning eyes and smiled. "I'm sure you already know Merle. No need to worry about this now."

He turned back up to Gothel.

"I don't see my need to speak to you further, so leave."

Merle noted the new expression forming on Gothel's face, the same as if Van had punched him. She could see the anger clearly on his defined face. The expression lasted but a moment, then it returned the monotonous tired look.

Gothel bowed his aging body in respect to the young king.

"Yes sire."

He turned and left.

Once he had gone, Merle let go of Van's arm and stepped in front of him, a sign of annoyance on her cat like face.

"What are you talking about Van? Are you hiding something from me? Gothel wasn't here to talk about 'his beautiful young daughter' again, was he?"

Van's face lit up for a second, then let out a stout laugh at the cat girl's question.

"Of course. However, he was also here to inform me of something very important…" He stopped laughing and to a step toward her. His face looked tired, but something was different about it. He looked a bit confused.

"It's Zaibach, isn't it?" Merle asked, fear gripping her heart.

The feeling was so familiar, but she never grew used to it. The cold throbbing of old fear was deep in her chest, and the prospect of being controlled by it again was just as frightening.

"How?" she forced herself to ask.

The words were almost pleading, knowing the answer had been there all the time, the clues to it had been right in front of them for a year. With the alliance's newfound 'peace', they were blind to it for almost as long.

Van answered slowly, and Merle stood silently, listening.

"One of Dornkirk's underling's, a man named Diaz, had been working to rebuild his machine. There are reports that he is near completion, but new reports suggest minor changes in the machine from before.

Today Donte received word from the Alliance that he has taken Zaibach's capital and claims the new machine has the capabilities to destroy…at least an entire country the size of Austuria.

The alliance has asked for my assistance with this matter."

Merle took a step forward, "In what way?"

She knew Van hated fighting, especially after the war almost two years ago. To be asked to fight now would probably be hard on him.

His face was hard to read. He seemed torn about it, but what he said next surprised her.

"They have asked me to get "their secret weapon"." He sounded angry about it, his hands balled into fists, and whatever the secret weapon they were referring to made him mad.

"What do they mean?" She asked, hoping it wasn't Escaflowne.

"Why did they say… To be refereed to as a weapon…" The angry tone in Van's voice was increasing, and he turned away from her to curse under his breath about something.

Merle placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which was tight with tension. "What are you talking about? What is the weapon…" Then it struck her.

Although many things made Van emotional, only one subject really got to him.

Using people as weapons or tools for one's own personal gain made Van particularly angry.

The one person Merle could think of that the alliance would want to use in this situation would be Hitomi, but she had left over two years ago, and despite Merle's best wishes, she had never returned.

For the alliance to ask for Van's help to get her would be impossible, even if Van himself wanted to. How could they get her when no one could?

"Hitomi…?" Van's shoulder's tightened slightly, and he stepped away from her hand. He nodded.

"How would they get her? She's on the mystic moon! Why would they ask for your help to get her when you can't?"

Now Merle was getting angry. Van still had his back turned to Merle, but he answered her question.

He pulled from around his neck the small pink pendent that Hitomi always wore. The pink jewel was bright and shiny against the light in the room, the chain wrapped loosely around Van's finger.

"I told them I would help."

He took a step toward the direction toward the forest east of the castle. He turned to Merle's puzzled face.

"It's alright. I didn't tell anyone about it. She gave it to me right before she left, and I just want to see if this will work. If it doesn't, I at least know how to help the alliance anyway.

Besides," he added, "It worked for her, I'm sure it will work for me."

He had reached the archway leading out of the yard before he called back to Merle;

"Oh…Donte wanted to speak with you about something Merle. Don't worry about me."

He walked away, the shadows of the trees covering him from view, leaving Merle alone on the grass confused and worried, not only about Van and Hitomi, but Donte as well.

"Stupid." she growled under her breath before heading out in search of Donte.

The cool night air was brisk against Van's face as he headed for the clearing just beyond the tree line of the forest to try to contact Hitomi.

He had done it only once before, and he was sure that he could make contact again.

He would try to get her to understand that he was trying to come, but when he tried before, he was only there for a second, and not knowing if it would work was like a stitch in his side. A false move could make old wounds bleed again.

He pushed the thought out of his mind, the only thing left was the blind hope he could make it there, to be with her again.

The cool memory of her features crept into his mind until all he thought of was her, the small memory of her jumping into his arms almost two years ago was one of the happiest moments of his life. "Hitomi, I want to see you again…"

He felt for a moment before his feet left the ground into the night air, a warm sensation on his chest where the pendent she had given him lit up with a pillar, engulfing him a bright blue light illuminating the night sky, sending him to the mystic moon.

How was that for a first chapter? I thought it was okay, considering the circumstances. Oh well. Who is Diaz, and who is Donte? Find out soon. Laaaaaa. This is my first fic, so be helpful, please. R&r!)


	2. greetings

Disclaimer: I don't own escaflowne or Mitsarugi from Soul Caliber, something I also don't own. I have nothing...

(Hello everyone! I'm updating! Please enjoy this chapter! Oh, and I'm still not really editing, but I seem to be having trouble getting the paragraphs to show up properly online. HELP ME!!! Excuse any grammatical errors and spacing problems and read on. I promise it will get better. Enjoy!)

A young woman with red hair let out a long sigh, tapping her foot on the ground holding a clipboard.

"Even in her senior year she always seems to be late."

She grinned in delight. _Well, that means I get to run her again. _

Just as she thought it a girl with dirty, blonde, shoulder length hair ran up to her panting.

"Sorry Yukari, I had a-"

"Let me guess, another make up test right, Hitomi?

Hitomi, you really should stop dozing off in class, you won't be able to keep up your grades and you'll make the track team look bad. Whom do you think the coach will blame for that happening? You guessed it… me!"

Yukari said closing her eyes, a look of feigned annoyance on her youthful face.

"Right on the money." Hitomi said waiting for theinevitable.

"How many laps is the punishment Hitomi? I can't seem to remember…"

Yukari said pretending to look puzzled and scratching her head.

Hitomi let out a deep sigh. "Five laps ma'am."

Yukari raised an eyebrow, holding up her stopwatch. "I'm timing you Kanzaki!"

She couldn't help but giggle as Hitomi walked over to the blocks. She had by her side her large Duffel bag, most likely full of her clothes and unmentionables, like she always did.

As if she was waiting to get a reason to leave, but that never came.

It always intrigued Yukari, that she had such a habit, but she suspected it had something to do with her disappearance two years ago.

Yukari wanted to ask Hitomi desperately what happened that night so long ago, but Hitomi seemed so elusive, so secretive of the matter that she couldn't investigate it.

After a while it became a usual sight wherever Hitomi was. If there was Hitomi, there was her bag. Now it was unexpected of her not to have the bag. Everyone, even Yukari had grown used to it.  

Hitomi set the bag aside and stepped up on the blocks.

"Go!" Yukari yelled.

Hitomi took off at once, her body a blur. Hitomi was a wonderful runner. Yukari always looked up to her for her talent. Hitomi could run even faster than her boyfriend Amono, beating his 10-second record in her first year.

No one knew why the girl could run that fast, it was as if the talent sprang up over night. One day she ran the 100 meters in 13 seconds, the next, she could run it in seven.

Hitomi ran like there was nothing else that mattered. Her face would go blank, her eyes seemed to glaze over, and she would run and run, as if she was running to something. She always looked sad, though, after she was done. Like she hadn't found the thing she was running to.

Hitomi was finished in what seemed a second, so after practice Yukari and them walked home together.

Over junior and the beginning of senior year, Hitomi didn't seem like herself. She was forgetful, unusually quiet and reserved, and slept quite frequently. She would stare out windows randomly in the halls, lost in some unseen thought.

She seemed sad.

Something had happened to her, something hard to reveal, even to Yukari. On more than one occasion she caught Hitomi crying alone in a hall or room, wiping her face quickly whenever she was seen, brushing the sight off like a joke or prank.

Seeing Hitomi look so depressed made Yukari worry about her constantly. She had tried unsuccessfully many times to ask Hitomi about it.

At on instance she thought it might be because of lack of interest from the opposite sex, and hoped to correct it.

"Hey, Hitomi? Why don't you go out with that one guy? I forget his name…Whatever. You know…the guy in class with the gray eyes? I hear he has this big crush on you…what is name? Toshi…something."

Hitomi was silent, walking ahead, apparently not listening.

Hitomi…are you alright?" Yukari stepped in front of her, grabbing her arm, making Hitomi stop walking.

She shook her head. "No…I just don't want to go out with anyone right now, Yukari. I…" She looked away, a blush forming on her pale face. She broke free of Yukari's grip and started walking again.

Yukari didn't like the answer. She ran up to her again.

"Hitomi, you have to tell me what's wrong. You never tell me what's on your mind anymore. Can't you just tell me?"

Hitomi suddenly stopped, the abrupt movement startling Yukari who almost ran into Hitomi's back.

Hitomi turned her head to her friend and smiled. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm okay."

She turned around again and kept going.

They continued in silence.

As they reached Yukari's house, Amono was waiting outside her gate.

"Yukari…I…have to talk to you." Amono stepped up to them, then turned to Hitomi.

"I…I think you should go on, Hitomi. I need to talk to her alone."

Yukari looked up at Amono's face. He looked troubled about something.

She turned to Hitomi, and she looked sadder then usual.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow Yukari. Bye, Amono."

She turned away and walked on down the street, turning back on the corner, waved, and continued alone.

"What is it?" Yukari asked Amono. He looked away. "I think…"

XX

She didn't know why she was tired, she just was.

She didn't feel like doing anything.

She knew everyone was worried about her, but she didn't care.

They didn't know.

No one.

Hitomi was up in her room, lying on her bed with her eyes shut. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and escape her life for a moment, and think about her current situation.

She had no idea what to do about Yukari and Amono.

Yeah, they were worried about her when she disappeared for few weeks two years ago, but they were the only ones who even saw her leave, and neither saw who she left with.

Van.

They didn't know she was always thinking about him, or that she would see him all the time in her mind. They didn't know her pain or her sadness now they were separated.

They just didn't know.

How could they? How could they know the feeling of being forever separated from the person that made her smile, her laugh, and feel right in the world?

Her heart forever separate from her body... herself in darkness.

She sighed inwardly and rolled over, hoping to clear her mind.

_ God…they really need to know…I cannot keep this in forever…wait! What did Amono _

_say to Yukari just a minute ago? I…I hope Yukari will be alright…_

She felt herself drifting off to sleep, her body becoming heavy...

Van.

Van was in her mind's eye... standing in the spot they first met so long ago. He was silhouetted against the artificial brightness of the lights above him, and he was holding out his hand to her.

He looked happy.

She tried to remember where she had seen him like this, but it was different from usual. He was holding something in the hand that he offered. Something that glittered in the light...

She was surprised when she saw him. She sat up again, feeling wide-awake, and crossed her room in the dark to her bag.

_He's coming! He's coming for me!_ She picked up her bag and opened her door.

Yukari was outside. She was crying and had her bag in her hand. "I need to talk, Hitomi-Huh?"

She stopped crying when she saw Hitomi's face. She looked down at Hitomi's bag.

"Where are you going?" She stepped aside.

Hitomi stepped out and couldn't help but smile. "I…I can't explain now. I'm sorry. I have to go."

She ran down the stairs. Her brother was at the bottom, holding his old baseball bat, absently swinging it to hit his foot. Hitomi brushed past him at the foot of the stairs and made for the door, a girlish grin spread across her face.

"Where you going? You can't go anywhere unless Mom or Dad are here!" He yelled to her as she rushed past. She turned back to her brother, and patted him on his blonde head.

She smiled.

"I'm sorry, Hitsarugi. Got to go!" She opened the front door.

Someone grabbed her bag and pulled her back inside. It was Yukari.

"You can't go without telling me what's going on, Hitomi." Her face looked determined.

Hitomi smiled again.

"I can tell you, but just follow me, okay? I don't want him to wait."

She pulled Yukari outside and started to run.

"It's about what happened two years ago, Yukari. When I left."

She heard Yukari gasp. "What! You mean that pillar? What are you talking about? What happened?"

Yukari was confused. She didn't get her friend or what happened her so long ago, and she had never spoken of it before.

She remembered that night so well. Hitomi had been running out on the track when she was swept away in a pillar of light on something that looked like a dragon. She had been gone for almost 2 weeks, and when she came back, she was so depressed. She wouldn't talk about it, and no one asked.

Why was she talking about it now? "Hitomi!"

She tried grabbing her again, but Hitomi continued on, too quick for her.

"It's Van. I have to see him again." She kept running.

"Huh?" Now Yukari was even more confused. "Who's that?" Hitomi didn't answer.

She just kept running. She moved with such purpose that soon Yukari couldn't seem to keep up with Hitomi, but she kept running, through the streets to Hitomi's destination. They were almost to the track before Yukari realized what was happening.

_I don't want to lose you again… please don't leave me alone again Hitomi..._

Hitomi was running too fast for Yukari to keep up. She tried to speed up, but she tripped on a rock and fell to the ground.

She let out a squeal of pain, crawling to her feet again, but stopped in her tracks. She got a flash of something, something she had forgotten…

She had tripped before.

Yukari looked up. Hitomi had stopped running and was walking over to help her up.

She remembered this too.

" You left before…" She stepped up.

"You and Amono…and me…this has happened before."

She looked past Hitomi to the track. _Something's different. I remember…_

Hitomi was talking, " You mean the first time, Yukari?" Yukari looked puzzled.

Yukari couldn't read Hitomi's face. She looked back to her friend.

" No, you left before that, I can't remember when. The days are strung together."

Yukari looked up at Hitomi with urgency in her eyes, a new fear mingled with her confusion.

"Hitomi, please tell me what's going on. Now."

Hitomi's face at first looked surprised, but she smiled anyway.

"I can explain later. I have to go." She sprinted away onto the track. "Hitomi!" Yukari yelled after her. "Wait!"

She could see Hitomi on the track. She was saying something to herself.

"Hitomi!"

She ran toward her, but stopped when she saw the light. It seemed like the sky itself lit up in haze of blue and a pillar came from the heavens.

"T-the Pillar of light!" Yukari screamed.

Fear was gripping her heart, a lost and hopeless fear she hadn't felt before.

Hitomi had stopped just beside the pillar, meaning that Yukari had a good shot at catching up to her.

"Hitomi!" she yelled again, but Hitomi ignored her. She was looking up into the pillar and smiling.

Something Yukari couldn't see very well was coming down the pillar toward Hitomi, but it looked familiar.

She finally caught up to Hitomi when the light started to disappear.

"H…Hitomi…why didn't you wait…" Yukari started to say through her labored breathing, but cut herself off when she saw what the pillar had brought down.

A young man was standing where the light had been, and Hitomi was hugging him.

Yukari could see the guy had on some kind of animal skin white pants and a red shirt that tied loosely in front. The guy had black hair and some rather muscular arms, and was a full head taller that Hitomi.

He was saying something that Yukari couldn't understand.

She stood there for a moment, puzzled, but that's when she heard something, like a faint voice in the back of her head. She strained to hear it, but the boy's gibberish was much louder than the voice in her head.

She concentrated hard on the voice, and it was fading…the boy's voice was getting weaker, but the other voice was getting louder.

Yukari closed her eyes and saw a blue light like before. The boy was in her mind too, but his back had turned, and the words he was saying didn't sound right.

The words in the back of her head got louder and louder until the gibberish was gone and only the understandable words remained. She opened her eyes.

"…you. It's been so long sense I've seen you, Hitomi. I never forgot about you." The boy was saying.

His gibberish was gone, and Yukari could understand what he was saying.

Hitomi was saying something too, "It was horrible, Van. I thought about you all the time. Has it really been this long?"

Yukari took a tentative step forward, trying to get the two's attention, but they were in their own little world.

She was getting annoyed with this. No one ever listened to her…they always ignored her, and now it was getting on her nerves.

"Hitomi!" She yelled, making her and the boy jump.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Hitomi let go of the boy and stepped back, allowing her a good look at his face.

Yukari felt her face go red when she saw him.

The man looked about 17, and although she could tell he was young, his reddish brown eyes told a different story.

She could already tell the boy had some pretty heavy responsibility, the heaviness in them and dark circles underneath them said as much.

His youthful face had a slight tan to it, and his arms weren't wiry and thin like most of the boy's she knew, but strong and buff. He looked surprised to see her, and Yukari's brick red face didn't help matters.

_God! What a hottie! Hitomi got herself someone like him? You have good taste Hitomi!_

She couldn't bring herself to say anything to him, so turned to Hitomi's smiling face.

"Uh…Hitomi? Who…who is this?" She managed to say, trying to make the blood in her face circulate normally.

Her friend smiled wider, and giggled, "Van."

The boy nodded. "I am sure this is an honor to meet you…"

She blushed again, trying to say her name, but nothing came out, making Hitomi start to laugh again.

"Yukari Uchida." She answered for her, and Yukari bowed in respect to him, saying in choked words, "I…I'm sure t-the honor is mine, sir."

She returned to eye level to get a glimpse of the man's slight smile, making her cheeks turn the color of his eyes again.

"Uh… sir? I know this is rude to ask, but why…?" She turned her head down again, trailing off, but he turned to Hitomi to answer the question.

"Hitomi…There is a reason for why I'm here…" His smile left his face and Hitomi's smile and color in her cheeks left with it.

"It's not…" She took a step back, shaking her head, but the boy nodded.

Yukari was surprised by Hitomi's reaction. She was shaking, and the tiredness and sadness that shown on her face only a few hours ago returned.

The boy stepped up and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Hitomi started crying.

She leaned against him again, letting her head rest just below his shoulder and her hands went up to her chest, holding her hands together against his, and he wrapped his arms around her, letting her tears fall on his faded red fabric.

He closed his eyes, but before he did, Yukari could see the pain in them, making him look much older.

Yukari was confused again. This reaction was different from before. It was all happening to quickly for her brain to take in.

All the weirdest questions were starting to appear in her mind like "who are you? and why are you so sad...?" The sadness in their movements was weird to watch.

_They were happy a second ago! What is going on? I don't understand…_

She stepped up to them and asked, "What is going on? Why are you crying, Hitomi?"

She reached her hand out to comfort her crying friend in the weird boy's arms.

The boy opened his eyes, and Hitomi turned her head slightly. "I…I'll tell you, Yukari."

(Well, I hope you like this chapter! I rather liked the ending to it, and all the little plot holes in it I will answer now. How can she get to school so fast? I know in the series she lives far away! Does She have to take a train and all that other good stuff? Well, I just didn't feel like writing it. WHATEVER. I don't really care. I promise I won't manipulate her world anymore. From now on her house is far away, based on the clues from the series. Ah, and her little brother? I came up with the name. Hitsarugi is a cool name! I rather jacked it from Mitsarugi from Soul Caliber. I just like the name! I think his real name is Mamoru, but I like the name I gave him, so I'm keeping it!

I'm done. No more talking.

NOT!

More on how Yukari can understand him- She wanted to. There. Okay, she has something cool in the works. Just read to find out! I'm done.

P.s.Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Inda, Maky and Nikkler, thank you! Oh, and Nikkler sempai, thank you for the advise...I just like being lazy. Ask Diana. LoL. R&r!)


	3. a distraction

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the escaflowne universe.... I do own Donte and another character you'll see at the end of this chapter, but everything else is the property of their respective owners...Whaaah...

(I'm back! More on my cool fanfic! . Hee hee. Not! I know it isn't cool. Really, more on Donte! Oh, and thank you all for reviewing! I will take a short break from Van and Hitomi and give you a little bit of a character I like a lot! Yeah!)

Merle made her way to the garden, pondering the nights events.

What if Van came for Hitomi only to discover her changed? What if she no longer cared for him, and had no desire to help them?

How could she help?

How could the Alliance even use her? Merle never saw Hitomi's gift as a tool, but the Alliance did, and what if she did come only for her to be taken away again, this time by greed and want of power?

Her musings led her through the cool night air to the small garden just inside the west gate of the castle, and at the sight of Donte under a nearby tree nervously awaiting her arrival temporarily drove her dark thoughts from her mind.

She ran to Donte and stopped just short of running into him at the foot of the tree.

She managed to frown despite the hilarious look on Donte's blushing face and yelled, "Donte, I have to get to work! What is it? I'm not in a very good mood right now and this better be good!"

Although Donte was at least two heads taller then Merle, he recoiled at her anger, even if she was just playing.

The young cat-man, was of a similar breed as Merle with brown fur and black strips on his cheeks and the head of the shoulders and tail, but had dark blue, shaggy hair instead of pink, and was wearing his usual green tied down shirt and faded buckskin pants. His physical appearance looked quite good to Merle, but she thought the outfit he wore was verry funny. Especially the pants, because they were much too large for him.

Donte was from Austuria, growing up by the sea and had a fondness for anything wet. Something else weird about him to amuse her, and tease him for. Merle had never met a cat that liked water. His quick reflexes were better than even hers, and he was a very smart man. His oddities were very attractive to her and she would never tell him, either, that he was the hottest person she had ever met. His cute, odd appearance and ability to make her laugh were great to her.

Better yet, Van liked him.

She had a very big crush on him, and secretly, she knew he did too.

She suggested more than once to Van that he was made head advisor instead of Gothel, but unfortunately, the last time, Van laughed it off saying, "he wouldn't be happy as head advisor. To much time with me and not with you. He's already declined it twice."

Merle was sure to give Donte a good hit on the head when she saw him after that, but quickly apologized by giving him a little wooden boat to put in the fountain in the garden.

His childish enthusiasm was another of his qualities she liked about him.

She stepped up to him as the cool night air beat against her back, trying to hold her laughter as he leaned against the tree in a mock macho routine.

"I wanted to talk with you about something." Donte said in a would-be casual voice.

"What about?" Merle replied, stepping close to his brownish orange face and looking into his yellow green eyes.

She placed her hand on his blue hair, giggling at the slight blush under the black strips below his yellow eyes. She loved to play like this with him, thinking it funny that Donte was almost as strong as Van now and cowering at her.

"Uh…I-I… I wanted to talk to you about…" He was trying very hard to look down and not at her face.

He stepped back from her and looked up again.

"It's about us."

Merle was taken aback. "Huh?" She replied, confused.

At the sight of her confused face, Donte seamed to loose his concentration.

"I mean, uh…the wolves. Yeah… Do you think they'll take up swords?"

Merle cocked her head, examining his expression.

She supposed he was trying for a friendly conversing expression, but he hadn't pulled it off and looked disappointed. She decided to play along.

"I guess they want to be left alone, you know? They have their own ways of protecting themselves without our weapons."

His facial expression now was hard to read, like he secretly wished she hadn't pressed the subject, but replied, "Well, now they can have the added help of swords and guymelifs, right? Isn't it odd they chose to ignore our new freedom?"

He stood up from the tree and suddenly looked very confident with himself. Merle couldn't help but laugh at this.

Not so long ago it was odd for beast men to have lethal weapons like quymelifs. They weren't allowed. After the war, Van tried to offer the beast men in his country an alternative to the norm, allow beast men weapons without persecution, and offer positions in the government and army.

Because of this, beasts from the surrounding forest and nearby countries flocked to Fanalia seeking relief from the hatred for their kind and hope for a normal life in peace. The wolf men remained in their refuge in the dragon forest however, to the surprise of everyone but Merle and Van.

They liked it where they were, not bothered with the changes of the world. They liked to pretend the were blind, but remained loyal to Fanalia and it's inhabitants, always watching for suspicious news from the north or spies from the south that would love to attack Fanalia for it's newfound power.

Their loyalty was the best thing for Van now in the trying times when all he had built up could be lost again.

"You and your ideas!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air to mock him. Why don't you get ideas about other things? Politics are boring. I hear them all the time with Van! Tell me why you really wanted to see me!"

She pointed a sturdy finger at him, shaking it vigorously in another successful way of intimidating him.

After a few minutes of bickering and laughter, Donte tried tickling her, her only weakness, to get her to listen to him. It ended with Merle soaking wet in the fountain, Donte picked the struggling Merle up from the water, laughing at her now drenched face.

He sat down with his feet in the cool fountain water, placing Merle beside him. She got to her feet and turned her back on him, saying, "You, DONTE, NOT only did you MAKE ME WET, but also LATE! What do you have to say about that?!" She moved to walk away, but something very odd happened next.

Donte grabbed her hand and held it firm, pulling her back toward him until she lost her balance and almost fell onto his lap, making her blush, her head almost barely touching the surface of the water. Donte's eyes flashed the color of late summer grass, the moon's reflection on the pool of water bouncing off them.

His free hand caught her shoulder before she hit the water again, and he pulled her closer to his face, a look of something like passion or concentration etched across his blushing face.

" Merle I-I need to tell you something that has been on my mind…" Donte said, his grip tightening on Merle's shoulder, as he moved his other hand, still holding hers, to rest against his rapidly beating chest.

"W-what?" She whispered, her face turning red again. Donte moved closer.

"Ahem."

Both looked up.

"Excuse me," A young woman with long, wavy, purple hair questioned in a sort of airy manner, holding her head slightly down, her eyes the color of sunset, looking at the two in a stuck up fashion, not looking directly at them.

"My father has informed me that a young man named…" she screwed her face slightly in thought, trying to remember. "Donte Ashima, would escort me to the great hall."

She looked up, and a small smile flashed across her pale face for a moment then continued, " He has told me that Sir Van Fanel was waiting for me there."

Merle had gotten up and was looking at the girl with disgust on her face.

"Well, you're out of luck, because Sir Van isn't there."

The girl's face suddenly when pink, and her eyes narrowed in anger.

"What do you know of this? My father just told me he was there. Why would I believe you, a cat, over my own father?" She looked away, disgusted to have even laid eyes on Merle.

"Where is Sir Ashima?"

Donte stepped forward, although he too looked disgusted to have seen this woman stand before him, and answered her curtly, "I am Sir Ashima."

She looked back on him, almost past him, then looked away again.

"Please…ugh…escort me to the great hall."

He laughed; taking a step back towards Merle, who looked ready to kill.

"Madam, if you are looking for Sir Van, he isn't there I'm afraid. He has left the castle. I have reason to believe he is…uh…training, in the dragon forest. He will be gone for a few days."

She looked back at him again, this time with disappointment, and turned to walk away. "Fine." She said, rolling her eyes before she turned past the hedge and out of sight again.

"Who was that?!" Merle said, angry. "She was really annoying."

She started walking away, waving to Donte as she went toward past the tree.

"Tell me later okay? I'm really late." She walked away, leaving Donte to his thoughts.

(That's the end! Donte and Merle, sitting in a tree, k-I-s-s-I-n-g! Hoped you liked this chapter! Oh, and you won't see the purple haired girl again for a while, so don't worry, she won't interfere. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know you all want to know how the alliance is planning on using Hitomi, and maybe I can explain soon. Or not. R&r!)


	4. sweet gestures

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, or any of the characters. Just the ones created from my own warp mind...

(Weeeeee! Tina's back! I can finally continue my fan fic! Thank you to all that read chapter 3! I know it took a while to update, but I wanted time to finish a chapter I'm currently writing in this story that has been sitting on my computer for a while.

I'll remind those that don't remember that a lot of this was written a while ago, and the later chaptersthe ones I will edit I'm working on now, while I update the old ones.

Anyway, I have only one real Question: Did you all like Donte? He's cute, huh? I like the character, so you'll see a lot of him soon. The girl with purple hair won't show up for a while, so breathe a sigh of relief. Enjoy this next chapter, and remember; this is my first attempt a fanfiction, so unfortunately there will be some problems. HELP ME!)

Hitomi felt her feet touch earth once more. It took a moment to regain her sense of balance, and when she turned around she saw Van standing next to her and Yukari on the ground to her left, shaking.

"Yukari? Are you alright?" she asked, walking over to her friend.

Yukari looked up, and Hitomi could see she was slightly afraid, obviously not used to traveling in a beam of light.

"I'm fine." she replied, rising to her feet.

Yukari looked around and amazement and awe where all she could feel when she took in the world around her.

They were in an immensely deep forest, and the scent of pine filled the air. It was beyond dark beside her, but above, the night sky like she had never seen; so bright and clear, every speck of light falling down apon her. The moon wasn't visible, but she knew she would only have to wait a little longer to see it.

She heard Hitomi's voice beside her, and followed her down the dark path leading out of the forest.

"Yukari," Hitomi said quietly, "this is the forest just outside of Fanelia, Van's home. We have only a little ways to walk to see it."

They walked in silence, Van in front, leading the way, followed closely by Hitomi, holding tightly to Yukari to guide her.

They reached the edge of the forest after half an hour, the full light of the Earth and moon visible in the beautiful night sky. 

Yukari had never seen the world above her through this sudden change in perspective before, and it filled her once again with amazement, and as she came to the realization of her predicament, horror.

_I'm gone…I'm not on Earth…_

She looked away from the unimaginable brightness of the night sky and looked forward.

Ahead of them lay the lights of a large town, its warmth calling to them with open arms.

"Fanelia," Van told them, raising his hand to it.

XX

"Where is he? I thought he said he be back soon."

Merle was getting impatient and wanted to see her friend again.

She blew off work and even Donte to see Hitomi again, but it was taking way to long. She was never very good at waiting, and hated to do it.

She was standing just outside the entrance to Fanelia, looking towards dragon forest, growing increasingly frustrated, when she spotted Van walking out of the forest.

"What took you?" she called, running over to him.

"I've been waiting forever! You know I haven't even been to work, yet! You made me late!" She smiled brightly at him when she reached him, and made a move to hug him when Hitomi came into view, and she couldn't contain her glee.

She shoved past Van and took Hitomi into a very large hug, saying repeatedly, "Hitomi! I missed you so much!"

"Uh-Merle!" Hitomi could barely breathe due to Merle's tight grip, but she hugged her back. "It's great to see you!"

"You won't believe how things have changed around here! I can't wait to show you everything!"

Merle was quite distracted by Hitomi, so it took another minute to realize someone else was with them.

The girl was standing a little behind Hitomi with a look of utter shock on her face She looked to be as old as Hitomi and wore the same strange attire, but was a little taller and had long reddish brown hair.

Merle took in the image of the girl and tilted her head, puzzled.

"Who's this?" she asked in a childish way, turning her head in the direction of Van, not releasing Hitomi from her arms.

"Miss Yukari Uchida." he answered shortly, adding, "A friend of Hitomi's."

Merle pulled back to look into Hitomi's face and promptly said, "She's weird!"

Hitomi laughed and shook her head, but Yukari replied angrily, "Look whose talking!"

She stepped forward to stand beside Hitomi, glaring menacingly at Merle.

Merle let go of Hitomi, stood in front of Yukari and couldn't help but laugh. "She's like you Hitomi!"

She waved her hand and smiled sweetly at Hitomi's friend, saying warmly, "Welcome to Fanelia! I'm Merle!"

She ran forward and hugged the startled girl, putting her head onto her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "Stay away from Van. Don't mess with them, or answer to me."

She pulled back and smiled warmly.

Yukari expression was unbelievably funny. She looked shocked beyond thought.

_I'm surprised she hasn't fainted. _

"I'll lead the way!" she yelled, and She darted away, calling after them to keep up as she ran toward the city.

_It was fun to tease her._

They caught up with her shortly(the Yukari girl the first) and walked into the gates of the city.

XX

There weren't many people on the streets tonight, and those that were passed quietly, not looking up from their business, so the party didn't have to answer strange and annoying questions as the made their way through the city.

When they reached the palace, Hitomi took in it's majestic beauty with pride and joy.

To see the castle rebuilt after only two years was an accomplishment of itself, but to rival the splendor of Palas, that was amazing.

What she had remembered of the castle before was that of an almost earthy, wooden façade, but now it was replaced with a mixture old and new.

It still retained the feel of natural beauty, as if it grew from the ground up, but also had man made elements from Fanelian folklore; something to remind Fanelia's people it was made with their hands.

It was large and covered in a brilliant limestone and sandstone mix of rock. Above her, were the sculptures of Fanelian Mythology, the first great King of Fanelia standing tall like a protector of his people beside great cedar doors, with hundreds of great dragons lining the turrets of the castle high above, their wings spread wide and their mouths snarling. Hitomi could only think they were for guarding the royal family from evil spirits.

"It is the dragons killed in the right of dragon slaying," Van explained to Hitomi and Yukari when they viewed them, "to honor the sacrifice of their lives for our country."

After a moment of looking at the magnificent sculptures, Hitomi stole a glance at Yukari.

Her face was easy to read. Hitomi could see she was impressed, not only by the grand castle, but also Van. The slight blush on her face told as much.

She laughed to herself as she watched her, but was distracted when Yukari suddenly asked, "What are those?" pointing to something directly above them.

Hitomi suddenly got shivers down her back when she saw what was on a raised platform above the front doors in front of them.

Something that resembled two dragons, not land dragons, like the ones lining either side, but slender, and almost weightless. They had to be the same kind of dragon that Escaflowne resembled.

They intertwined and lay in a crouching position. the dragons' eyes flashed in the light of the nigh sky, and she could see they were made of a brilliant red stone. Their mouths were open and spouting menacing, as if they were about to breathe fire on those below.

"What do they mean?" she heard Yukari ask tentatively.

"They are the guardians of our world, the protectors of all that are good and just. They help those that are weak, and aid those that are strong to do what is right." Hitomi heard herself say, almost as if she were reading it in her mind.

She didn't understand how she could know this, or why she said it, but it didn't frighten her; in fact it almost comforted her to know she knew what they symbolized. Van nodded and continued the explanation.

" In this country our God cannot be controlled by anyone but the King. Because I am not the first in my family, but second borne, I should have never been able to pilot it. That means I am not the only ruler of this country. They are the dragon brothers, my brother and I. They rule this land."

Silence greeted this statement, but was broken when Yukari had to ask, "Who is your brother? Why isn't he here to greet you?"

Hitomi knew she expected her hear something like, "he is inside working," or something of that nature when she said this thoughtless statement, but Hitomi shook her head and looked down.

Van didn't answer.

Confused, she asked again uncomfortable by their silence. Merle answered slowly, obviously trying to find the right way to explain Van's brother's absence.

"He isn't on this world any more, but in a place where he is free and happy. He is with this father and mother, and all those that have left this world behind. We all hope to see him again when we pass."

Yukari' face lit up with understanding at what Van had been trying to explain through the dragons. Something she already knew.

_They're a memorial to Van's dead brother..._

"Oh…" Yukari replied softly, quieting down again. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

Hitomi grabbed her arm and squeezed gently, her way of saying it was all right.

They followed Van quietly through the doors and out of the cool night breeze, silent once more.

Inside was a magnificent hall, The light of many candles above and around them, revealing the elegant wooden floor, decorated with the same design as the flower in the old castle, painted onto the floor with surprising detail.

A wonderful staircase spiraled upwards before them at the end of the hall, and many doors below it leading to unknown locations.

They were met by a young guard, waiting inside a little ways from the doors.

The young man wore the attire of a Fanelian Knight, the white armor and green and red markings visible from where they stood. He looked to be no older than 16 or 17. He had tan skin and brown hair untidily covering a portion of his face, with chestnut eyes and cute freckles adorning his face.

He smiled at the sight of them and ran over, his jagged sword bouncing at his side.

"King Van! How good to see you your majesty! Merle, I hope your doing well!" He stopped in front of them and shook Van's hand merrily, then kissed Merle on the cheek.

When he pulled back, he took one look at Hitomi and Yukari and his demeanor changed completely.

"We have quests," he said seriously, bowing to them respectfully.

"Companions of Mrs. Merle I Presume?"

Van replied in a deep commanding voice, "No. They are my companions. Mrs. Yukari Uchida, and Hitomi Kansaki."

The boy looked at them again, this time astonished. "Hitomi! Oh my God!"

His demeanor changed once again, seaming to forget himself completely.

He knelt to the ground and lowered his head again, raising his hand into a fist and covering his heart.

"Mrs. Kansaki, I, Spark Thein, am at your service. I have waited for a chance to meet you!" He said enthusiastically, staring at the ground, awaiting a reply.

Hitomi was a bit taken aback at the boy's reaction to her name and blushed as he knelt before her.

_What's going on? Am I that famous?_

She bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to kneel. Can't you please stand up?" He raised his head, looked at her face, and blushed deeply, his freckles momentarily lost by the added redness on his face.

"Uh…Y-yes my lady." He averted his eyes as he rose in front of her, and took a shy step back, his head head still lowered. "Is there anything that my lady or lord wish?" He asked.

"Yes. Stop it!" Merle replied, shaking her head. "She isn't some kind of goddess or something! You're embarrassing her! Spark, inform Donte that they are here, but leave Gothel out of this! Hurry!" She commanded, pointing in the direction of one of the doors down the hall.

Spark nodded and dashed away, but before he could enter the door nearest, an older man stepped from it.

Spark almost ran straight into the man, and the older man had to grab onto his arm to stop himself from falling.

The man cursed loudly after regaining his balance and yelled, "Spark stop fooling around! What aren't you waiting…" He trailed off, looking at the two girls accompanying Van and Merle.

He looked darkly at them, and the expression on Spark's face. He removed his hand from Spark's arm and stepped back.

He addressed Van slowly when he walked over to them, as if pained by the very mention of Van's name, "Sire, I am glad to see you have returned. I would have liked if you had told me where you were headed. I had news…about another visitor, but it appears that there are even more then expected."

His head moved to stare for a moment at their strange attire, then with slight horror, at the duffel bags at their sides. "Will your guests be staying the night?" He asked, scornfully polite.

"I should expect!" Merle interjected angrily. "You got a problem with that?" She stepped forward menacingly and bared her claws.

"What do you want?" Van asked as properly as he could, grabbing hold of the squirming Merle.

"I would like to say that the Austurian knight Sir Allen Shazar and his young sister will arrive soon tomorrow. He sent word about an hour after you left. he answered, still staring at Hitomi and Yukari.

He was quiet for a moment, his expression growing even more sour.

"Sire?" He asked, raising his head slightly to view Van without loosing sight of Hitomi and Yukari.

"Yes?" Van replied.

"May I ask who these young women are?"

His eyes showed nothing but hatred like Hitomi had never seen, masked poorly by a forced grin.

"They are Mrs. Yukari Uchida," he raised his hand politely toward Yukari, "and Hitomi Kansaki."

His face softened ever so slightly, and he lowered his raised hand gently to hers, pulling her forward, as if she was floating on air toward him.

"My quests."

To Gothel's fresh horror he let go of the now quiet Merle and kissed Hitomi's hand.

Hitomi felt her face burn from the sweet gesture, the feel of his touch giving her goosebumps.

When he pulled back she seemed to regain her composure and had to hold back a laugh at the look on Gothel's face.

"Hitomi?" He asked her.

When She nodded, He like he might become sick and throw up his lunch, but replied forcefully, "I welcome You, Lady Hitomi," then bent low and kissed her hand lightly, and Yukari's.

"Lady Yukari." He whispered when he took her hand, no doubt making her feel very uncomfortable.

He raised up and turned away, blind to Yukari's move to brush his kiss off onto Merle, and addressed Spark, "See to it they get good rooms." Spark nodded and motioned the girls to follow.

Happy that they were getting away from Gothel, Hitomi and Yukari stepped forward and trailed quickly behind him through the open door, leaving Van and Gothel alone in the hall.

XX

The room was grand and elegant, with a wonderful view of the garden below and stunning night sky above.

To the left of the window, covered in an raspberry colored curtain, was a beautiful bed, with a richly fabricated blanket of red velvet. On it was an elegant design of white flowers connected with a small branch of long green leaves that complimented the red background nicely.

The pillows on the bed had a decoration of a brilliantly green ivory vine, spreading its leaves across the surface of their cases.

To her right was another door, that upon inspection was locked, and next to the window a simple modest wooden chair that seemed to have hastily been added to the room with no thought of coordination.

Hitomi went over and sat there on the chair for a while, looking out at the night sky, placing her head on her crossed arms and waited.

She thought about all the times she dreamed of this moment. To be on Gaea again.

_How many days I cried...how many days I went to sleep in a pool of my own tears..._

She had almost forgotten how beautiful it was here. She had to go down and see the gardens, but she was sure she couldn't leave the room yet, until later, when she knew that horrible man was gone.

He gave her the creeps, and it sent a chill down her spine when she thought of his cold eyes staring at her like that. It detested her to see the fake smile and the here his false words.

The very thought of him made her nauseous, so instead she thought of a happier subject; Van.

She could feel her face turn red again when she looked at her hand.

_He kissed my hand…he is so sweet…_

The feel of his lips on her skin was so wonderful it was like heaven to her. The memory of it filled her with unimaginable happiness.

She kissed the spot where he had kissed it and laughed at herself.

_I just kissed Van's kiss. At least I kind of kissed him._

She laughed again at the silly thought but she let it linger, until secretly hoping he would come up to her right now and to do it again.

_Hehehehehehe…_

She was so lost in thought she was startled badly when she heard a knock at her door.

She jumped up in surprise and walked quickly over to it, hoping her face wasn't red.

When she opened the door Yukari stepped in, accompanied by Merle, who looked like she might die from laughter.

"what's up?" Yukari asked, jogging over and plopping down on Hitomi's bed.

Merle laughed harder, holding her mouth and side in a struggle to remain calm.

"What is it?" Hitomi asked, getting up from her chair.

"It's Van. He cracks me up!" Merle replied, choking from laughter.

"Van? What happened?"

Merle quieted down a bit, than answered, speaking fast.

" I went with Spark to show where to put Yukari, and when I left, I headed back to the hall to see if Van was still there. I thought you'd be hungry and wanted to suggest bringing you some food. As I got closer to the hall, I heard raised voices.

I ran over to see what was wrong, and I saw the funniest sight."

She almost burst out into laughter again, but recovered herself and continued, "Van was yelling like I had never seen…well I mean since you left. I grew used to his quietness. I had forgotten about his temper…"

She paused, her eyes clouded for a moment, but continued, "Anyway Van yelled "How dare you!" and was shaking his fists at him."

"Who?" Hitomi asked.

"Gothel! He obviously said something he shouldn't have. So he yells, "I don't want to hear those words escape your lips again! " He was shouting so angrily, I couldn't help but laugh at Gothel's horrified face."

Hitomi stared at her for a minute, than burst out laughing, Yukari joining in.

She too had forgotten Van's anger.

He had two forms of it, childish anger and rage.

The childish kind was somewhat cute, like a child not getting what he wants, but when he was really angry, that was frightening.

His eyes seemed to turn the color of blood, and his face would contort into that of a snarling beast, ready to kill.

Usually seeing him that angry was unsettling, but the thought of that look turned to Gothel was funny.

"Probably peed in his pants." Yukari interjected, laughing again.

"Looks like he did to me." Merle giggled, holding her stomach.

After a few minutes of much needed laughter, Merle sat down next to Yukari on the bed, looking over to Hitomi.

"I've missed you, Hitomi. I'm glad you're back. It really hasn't been the same without you here."

She motioned Hitomi to sit on the other side of her, and when she did, Merle hugged her tenderly.

There was a sudden silence in the room, where they held onto each other. Hitomi was surprised by Merle's sudden attitude change.

Suddenly, she felt hot tears on her shoulder, coming from Merle, who began shaking slightly.

"I can't tell you how much I've missed you Hitomi…" she sobbed softly, "how much Van has missed you."

She tightened her grip on Hitomi, as if she didn't want to let go.

Hitomi hugged her in return, patting her on the back. "I missed you all too."

Hitomi realized something then, feeling the joy mixed with sorrow in Merle's tight embrace.

Despite the horrible reason for her return, she was happy to come back, and at least, for this moment, she didn't regret it.

(That is the end of the chapter! I hope you liked it! I will continue soon, I hope. I still haven't really edited anything yet, so all this stuff was written like…two years ago. I hope you read more! Remember: I love Esca! R&r!

P.s. I know I didn't put the conversation between Yukari, Van and Hitomi at the beginning of the chapter, but trust me, I will put it in. Yukari doesn't follow Hitomi blindly to Gaea. There is a reason. Find out later about that reason, and the missing conversation in a later chapter. HA! )


	5. Dinner

(I'm back! All right, I can't stop dancing to weird Al's CD, Poodle hat. It's so cool! Anyway, on a more serious matter, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a really long time, it's just I've been really busy. At first I wanted to get a chapter up a week, but I fell behind, and well...My computer broke down! Or really, my brother was messing with it and broke it! All of my work is stuck on that computer, with no way to retrieve it, when I remembered that I made a copy of this chapter, so I'm going to go ahead and update. If I don't update for a while, bear with me, because this is just as frustrating to me as it is to you, believe me! I promise I'll update more, when I can get on my computer again! Sorry... Please forgive me... You know how it can be... Onward to the fanfic!)

I don't own Esca, so please don't sue.

Merle had given them a brief tour of the castle that night, and they discovered that it wasn't complete after all. Many wings were still unfinished and some walls weren't even constructed yet, so their original thought was proven wrong. It wasn't done yet.

XX

A little later, they made their way back to Hitomi's room, and as soon as they got inside, Merle told them both that She had personally set up a special welcome for Hitomi and Yukari, and that it would be formal.

Hitomi's eyes grew so wide, and her cheeks so red, Yukari almost fell off the chair she was sitting on in her laughter.

"Why formal? We don't even have dresses!" Yukari asked regaining her balance, surveying Merle with a beady eye.

"No reason," she had replied, waving her hand as if to swish a thought away, although Yukari saw her wink at her when Hitomi wasn't looking.

"It won't be that bad, girls. I just invited a few of the court to come and greet you, so don't worry."

Hitomi's expression turned sour, and the color from her cheeks left it.

Merle saw her sudden mood change, and tried to comfort her, "It won't be that bad! I promise there won't be that many people, and it won't take all night...I just think you should have a proper welcome!"

She waved her arms and smiled feebly, her voice shaking slightly.

Hitomi's mood didn't seem to be improving, so Yukari decided to step in, at least to help Merle, if she really thought a 'proper welcome' was what they needed.

"I'll go, Merle. I wouldn't mind getting a better welcome then the one we got at the gate. I would love some food! Hitomi, wouldn't you? I know Van would love to see you there tonight, too."

Suddenly it hit her; _say the magic "v" word and you can't go wrong with Hitomi. It was like there was a big smile button painted on that word in her mind..._

"Okay, Merle, I'll go...I just hope there won't be too many people..." Hitomi replied quietly, the color returning to her cheeks.

Yukari was cracking up, both inside and out.

"what could we wear? I didn't bring anything formal... I wasn't really thinking about dinner..." Hitomi whispered, looking down to hide her blush.

_I know what you were thinking about..._ Yukari thought to herself, a wide smile spreading across her face as she watched Hitomi.

"Don't worry about the dresses," Merle added with a slight grin. "I've already got it prepared."

XX

Dinner that night was rather odd to Yukari.

When Merle said formal, she meant it. Everyone was so formal about everything.

The hall was decorated brilliantly, with grand red fabric lining the walls, and thousands of candles floating seemlessly on Chandeliers made of gold that shined as bright as the sun.

The people of court would curtsy and bow, as if it were a giant dance in a fairy tale movie, and Yukari couldn't help but smile as she stepped into the hall.

She gasped as she viewed the people clearly, she saw that everyone was dressed to kill.

Merle had picked out a very pretty dress of lavender for Yukari herself to wear. Something thin cut and short, with matching white sandals and she had her hair up in a curly ponytail wrapped with matching ribbons. Something conveying quiet beauty. She walked in alone, not escorted by anyone, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before she met someone, hopefully to spend the night with. _Especailly since Hitomi probably won't spend much time with me..._

Yukari's dress was very pretty on her, but she had a feeling Hitomi's dress was meant to cause attention.

She wore a beautiful long satin evergreen colored dress, shimmering as the light reflected off it, billowing at her waist to compliment her hips, with a lighter green collar to match. Her shoes were off white sandals, but high in the heel, that wrapped her feet in an elegant design of white roses.

When she entered the hall about five minutes after Yukari, Everyone stood up, and Van walked in with her on his arm.

Van wore long sleeved white shirt made of a special fibers Yukari had never seen before, that made it sort of glow, and matching white slacks, loose fitting, white a gold belt bearing the Fanalian royal crest. At his side was his sword, weighing down his belt and loose pants.

Every eye was on Hitomi and Van, transfixed by Hitomi's beauty and grace as she walked by Van to the table.

Yukari couldn't help but be a little jealous of Hitomi and the attention she received, but she almost commanded awe and appreciation with her young, vibrant face.

When She sat down, Van, who had moved the chair out for her, sat beside her, with Yukari sitting next to Hitomi and Merle on the other side of Van.

She was wearing a flirty red dress, slightly low necked and spaghetti straps, and a shining red ruby around her neck on a choker, with matching red earrings, complementing her ears and hair, which now covered a portion of her back, waving into big curls at the bottom.

Beside her was a young man Yukari didn't know, a cat with blue untidy hair, who every once and a while, would steal a glance at Merle with big yellow eyes, his brownish orange fur puffing slightly.

_It's cute to see blush on a furry face_. 

The dinner was delicious, filled with food Yukari had never known, but everything tasted and looked great.

Hitomi drank quite a bit of pink liquid, that was tart but sweet, like strawberries or raspberries, but obviously alcoholic by Hitomi's slight slur in speech as the night wore on.

Occasionally Yukari would hear someone ask Gothel who She and Hitomi were, and he would pass them off as distant cousins to Van or Himself, but Van ruined that.

When Dinner was over Van rose to his feet and announced music and Dance, and instantly took Hitomi's hand, helping her to her feet, and they somehow floated over to the dance floor.

Yukari was surprised to hear Van speak "Music" and "Dance" at the same time. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

XX

_Okay…just do as Allen told me. _

_Uh…oh no…What was I thinking…She is so beautiful…Wait! Why am I nervous? _

_Remember. It's Hitomi._

Van took Hitomi's hand in his, led her onto the floor, and began to dance.

He tried not to trip over himself and look composed, but he couldn't concentrate when he realized he was totally alone on the floor holding Hitomi close to him.

He had been taught to dance as a child by his mother, but he was rusty, so during a weird day when Allen offered, he was taught all over again. How stupid he thought he was that day, but it shut Gothel up.

Better to be taught by someone he rather liked verses someone he didn't.

He was very uncomfortable with everyone watching, but soon they were joined by Merle and Donte, followed by the other quests, and finally began to relax and just enjoy the moment.

XX

It was the best night of her life! All the people, the food, her friends there, and Van holding her close as the swirled around the room filled with music and laughter.

She couldn't believe she was here.

She let herself go in the time she spent in the hall that night. She wouldn't let herself think of anything else but how good all of this night felt to her.

She didn't care if the whole world was destroyed the next day, as long as she spent all of tonight with Van and all the people here she loved.

Occasionally she felt herself stumble on the fabric at the bottom of her dress. She wasn't used to wearing long skirts, and the sandals were slightly uncomfortable, but as long as everyone else in the room was jealous of her, and Van loved it, it was worth it.

After awhile of dancing, she could no longer stand on her feet, so she asked to sit down. Van sat beside her at the table, but soon after, people started coming over to them and asked questions.

"Who is this lovely girl, sire?" A woman in a horrid ugly yellow button down dress with brown pointed boots.

When they tried to explain without confusing her, she got up and walked away.

More people of the court, lords and ladies from the surrounding countries, came to investigate the young maiden in green hanging off the King of Fanelia's arm.

When they both finally had had enough of the stupid questions that led to nowhere and the stares and strange comments, they got up and walked out of the hall.

"How do you put up with that all day, Van?" Hitomi questioned as soon as they did where safely out of earshot.

"I don't know," he responded, sighing. "They're never like this..." he paused, then finished, slightly chuckling, "Well, they've always been like that. You just tune it out after awhile. They don't care for a response, just care about saying something."

XX

Yukari saw Hitomi and Van leave the hall, and suddenly felt very alone.

She was sitting in the biggest table, with at least thirty empty places surrounding her.

Merle had left shortly after Hitomi and Van did, with the cute cat boy from earlier, so she sat there for twenty minutes, the people at the nearby tables and dance floor cutting glances at her now and then.

She was bored and tired. After the dinner she felt so lonely...No one seemed to care if she was around, and the night was proving to be uneventful for her. No one walked up to her to ask her to dance. She was confused, and being confused and lonely took its toll on her already worn out nerves.

_Why won't anyone dance with me? Am I really that ugly? I'm so bored…maybe I'll just leave…Like anyone would notice…I wish I was in bed. This night is a wash out. Might as well head back…_

She was about to just leave and go to her room and contemplate why she had decided to go with Hitomi at all, when someone walked up to her.

The young man from earlier, the guard in the great hall had walked slowly over. He sat down beside her once he came to the table and smiled in an inviting and pleasing manner, helping to brake the ice.

"Good evening madam." he continued to smile, the small collection of freckles close to his eyes reaching up into them, blending beautifully.

Yukari suddenly didn't feel so lonely anymore. She smiled back, feeling her face blush as she took in the features of his face and body.

He wasn't wearing armor now. He was wearing a long-sleeve black shirt, made of material that looked light and thin. she guessed it was like silk. His pants were a navy blue, and around his waist a belt and sword, bearing the arms of the Fanalian royal guard. The mark of a knight.

" Madam Yukari? I think that's your name…My name is Spark." He bowed his head then raised it again, trying to keep eye contact.

"I know you don't know me, but will you dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She rose to her feet and nodded, taking his hand. He led her out onto the dance floor.

Yukari could feel her heart skip a beat as he pulled her into his embrace, letting her feet and body move with him and the beautiful music around them. His smile warmed her.

He seamed gentle and kind, someone to hold her and keep her safe in this unfamiliar and alien world.

"Why did you want to dance with me?" she asked as they started dancing.

"I guess… I thought you were too beautiful to stay alone. When I first saw you, I thought, "She's gorgeous. Uh…"

He stumbled, seaming to loose his concentration.

His words had taken Yukari by surprise. She blushed deeply at the response, trying hard not to look too pleased with herself.

"Thanks. I was feeling a bit lonely."

Spark held her closer to him, and they seamed to float, the world around them lost in a blur.

XX

They had reached the courtyard. Slightly larger in scale then Merle's garden outside, it had many native plants from the forest. Trees where surrounding the entrance to the yard.

The smell of sweet flowers just in bloom filled the air, the night sky shining brightly above them.

As they got closer, she could see in the center of the yard a monument of a stone Escaflowne, the guardian God of Fanelia, standing alone in the night air, surrounded by water.

Hitomi could see the glimmer of an energist on the chest, probably the same one Van had used in the war that now seemed so long ago.

She went over and sat down on a bench underneath a large oak tree. Van walked over to her, standing facing the fountain, looking to the sky.

They were quiet for a moment, breathing in the fresh air around them. "Van?" Hitomi called to him.

"Yes?" he answered, not looking at her.

"Come sit with me."

Another silence followed where in Van did and said nothing.

This response was slightly disappointing to Hitomi, who expected some response to her question, but he just stood there.

"Van?"

Van remained silent, looking away.

XX

_What am I going to do? Stop thinking and just answer!_

He wanted to just go to her and tell everything he wanted, tell her how much he missed her, say he wanted her to stay with him forever, but the last time that happened he lost his nerve.

The memory hurt as much as her slap did.

His silence was hurting her now, he knew, but what would he say?

He turned around to face her. She looked very confused, her eyes pleading response from his.

He could feel his face burn, and he slowly walked over to her and sat down.

She leaned close to him, obviously cold. He tried to be bold and put his arm around her. He could feel her relax as he held her.

"Hitomi?" He whispered, trying to work up his nerve.

"Yes?" She responded, looking up to him.

He paused. "I…wanted to talk to you about something."

He took a deep breath, willing himself to continue.

"It's been a long time since I've danced. I wasn't too bad was I?" he heard himself say.

He cursed himself inwardly as he said it.

Hitomi laughed. "I haven't danced with anyone for a long time." she responded. "I thought I was going to trip for a moment at the beginning, but thank God you were dancing with me. You're a really good dancer."

Van smiled. "Well, I just learned. Mother taught me when I was younger, but I was rusty, so Allen helped me out."

Again he cursed himself, but she laughed heartily when she heard of his teacher.

"Allen? I never thought you of all people would ask for help from him about something like that!"

Van couldn't help but laugh too. "It was pretty hard to ask. The weird thing is though, he seamed to enjoy it." She burst out laughing again, this time covering her mouth with her hand.

_Good. She's not mad anymore. Perfect timing._

"Hitomi?" He said to her, grabbing her hand.

She stopped laughing and smiled sweetly at him, "Yes?"

Van took a deep breath. "I've wanted to ask you something for a long time."

He paused, looking into Hitomi's glowing evergreen eyes, seeing himself reflecting back to him. He looked scared. The truth was that he really was frightened that she might react differently then what he hoped if he finished.

_It would be so much easier if I kissed her._

He blushed at the thought, but the thought lingered, until he was no longer afraid of a reaction.

_It would only be a small one…She is so beautiful… Why not? I know she loves me, and I have to stop being a coward._

"What is it Van? What do you need to ask me?" Hitomi asked, smiling a small smile of encouragement for him.

Her smile was more than he could take. He moved suddenly forward in an effort to kiss her, but something startled him, someone standing by the entrance to the garden, and he fell on her instead.

"Am I interrupting something?" a voice from the open gate called.

Van hesitated in moving from on top of Hitomi, as if to protect her.

The person that had asked the question stepped from the shadows to reveal a tall man in the armor of an Austrian knight, long blonde hair, and brilliantly blue eyes like pools of cool mountain water.

He walked over and sat beside Hitomi and Van, tangled up on the bench a smile across his youthful face.

"Van, Hitomi! I see you're doing well."

Van got up quickly and moved away from Hitomi, trying not to show his blush to Allen, though secretly stabbing him in his mind.

Hitomi's face was a dark red, greeting Allen as best she could in the time given. When all the sound she could produce was gibberish, Allen hugged her fondly, telling her how great she looked.

"You look so grown up, Hitomi! I haven't seen you in two years! Have you missed me?"

She nodded, still trying to regain composure. "I've missed you. How is your sister?"

Allen laughed and pointed over his shoulder, "She's fine." He responded. Behind him was Celina, a beautiful girl of 19 holding her hand to her face in an effort to hide the surprise of seeing Hitomi and Van in the garden.

Hitomi looked down and didn't look at Allen.

After a few moments of silence, Allen suggested they go inside, so they all got up and walked back inside, Van looking at his feet, Celina looking away from all of them, and Hitomi to the sky. Allen seemed to be the only one not effected by the moment, looking cheerfully ahead.

The rest of the evening they spent inside, introducing themselves and Allen and Celina to the ladies and lords of the court, until it was nothing more than a continuous chorus of oohs and ahs for nothing. The night had become very boring, lasted longer then expected, and soon they were all very tired.

As Van and Merle saw off the rest of the quests, Hitomi, Yukari and Spark sat with Allen and Celina. Yukari and Spark were kind of in a world of their own, so Hitomi had the time to catch up Allen.

A few minutes of talking about the restoration of Austuria and surrounding countries, then Allen started asking questions about Hitomi. She told him about all her doings and goings, and soon afterwards, Spark left to go and see off the rest of the quests and make sure the castle was secure.

Hitomi introduced Yukari to Allen and told her how she had come with her. When she was finished Allen smiled warmly at Yukari. "What a lovely young girl." Allen kissed Yukari's hand affectionately, making Yukari blush.

Celina suggested that Yukari and her go talk in private, so Allen and Hitomi were left alone in the empty hall.

"Hitomi, I had heard from people within the alliance that you might come." Allen began, as soon as Yukari and Celina were out of earshot.

"I know." She responded, sitting opposite him at the table, looking down. "Van told me."

There was a pause, then Allen continued.

"You know why they want you?"

She nodded. "I'm their "secret weapon"." She looked down at her feet, and didn't say anything for a little while, obviously saddened by the fact.

"I'm sorry."

Allen leaned over to her and hugged her gently, expecting her to cry or sob, but she looked up and smiled, hugging him back.

"I didn't come to help them."

"Huh?" Allen was taken aback by her sudden change in attitude.

"What do you mean? Hitomi…"

Allen watched as Hitomi looked up into his eyes, and he could see that the young girl in his arms was no longer that. Now she was a young woman with sparkling emerald colored eyes and soft smiling face that looked like a cool morning in winter, with full lips the color of his mother's favorite flowers.

In spite of himself, he felt a twinge of blush across his face as he looked at her, and suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to kiss her.

He held her closer to himself, trying very hard not to do what he would have liked, but she brought him back to reality when she blushed deeply and finished her thought.

"I came to help Van."

He was a little surprised at first by her response, but his face softened and he smiled again. He kissed Hitomi on the cheek and whispered to her, "I know."

(There. The end of chapter! This chapter was somewhat long, but that's okay. I hope you all liked it! The next chapter is going to hopefully be not as long as this one, but I hope you enjoy it. I think this is turning out to be an interesting fanfiction. Oh, and I know Allen was supposed to show up the next day, but he was already there. Gothel told him that there were quests, but he got his info a day off. Allen's entrance was unexpected. The feast was just a welcoming for Hitomi, and the fanfic. I know, I'm a little late, aren't I? Well, maybe Van planned the party a bit earlier, but Hitomi came the same day as a coincidence.

On the other hand, was it fate?

(Bad joke.)

Did you like how I dressed everyone up? I think I liked Merle's outfit the best, although I modeled it after Naria and Eria's dresses at the end of the series. I thought they were gorgeous. Oh, and about the failed kiss attempt by Van, I thought it was funny!

Allen ruins everything, and he didn't even care. Van seriously wanted to kill him at that moment, but at least he's closer to Hitomi now. Read the next chapter to see what happens next! R&r, Please, and I hope I get the next chapter up soon...)


	6. Advisory

(Alright. I have the next chapter ready. This is much sooner then I expected, because my computer is still not working, but I found an old copy of my fanfic that I edited to get the next chapter up, so ignore the grammatical errors and R&r, Please. I hope you like it, since I'm working off a formally corrupted file where I had to literally figure out what I had written.)

P.s. Escaflowne isn't owned by me, but it's respective owner. I just own the rights to this fanfiction, and my thoughts are my own, sorry.

_ Such a nice warm morning! I feel so awake! _

Van didn't know when he last felt this good. He was in such a good mood! The morning was sunny and bright, and as he walked past the windows in the open corridor, he smiled to himself.

Although he wasn't able to tell Hitomi how he felt the night before, he was happy that he almost had his chance to kiss her.

He was inches from her when they were interrupted.

_I can't believe it! I think she was blushing! She was so beautiful! I almost kissed her! I've thought of doing that almost since I met her, but last night I almost did!_

Despite his authority as a nation's ruler, as an accomplished soldier, and a strong willed young man, his thoughts had turned into that of a normal teenager. Someone who for at least a moment, didn't care about anything but his luck at finding the woman of his dreams, that cared for him enough to let him get that close to her.

He planned on making the morning meeting short, so he could go to practice his fighting skills, besides, he had a new advisor, even if it was a temp, to distract the fools on his advisory council.

He really didn't want an Advisory board, especially after the war, but he was told be the members of the Alliance that it would be unwise to not have one. In the chaos following the war, he had hastily picked men he thought to be sensible or reliable on the short space of time he had. He had needed to reform the government from scratch, seeing as he never truly had time to rule before the war. He knew now that as soon as the Castle was complete he would fire anyone on the council he had grown to distrust, and let those in his country, not himself decide who would replace them.

_It puts less pressure on my shoulders and might reinforce loyalty in Fanalia... I'm a King, not a dictator..._

His smile widened as he walked the hall to his destination.

_A thought that I seemed to have gained through Hitomi's Influence..._

He remembered that conversation that he'd had with her so long ago, almost a month after he met her...

_"Do you have elected officials in your parliament, Van?"_ She had asked. _"Parliament? What do you mean?"_ He had said, puzzled at the meaning of such a word. _"Elected government officials, like advisers. You know, before..."_ She trailed off, seeming uncomfortable.

At the time, he thought the question was stupid, because all he had known about his government was that advisors were selected by either the King, or Generals, never elected.

_"Why? Do you think we would let any normal Fanalian commoner choose? No! We had advisors, but they were selected, not elected. What does a simpleton know about the regime of his country? Nothing. My countrymen trust Leaders to choose other leaders, and don't bother themselves with meddling in government."_

He had thought then that his answer would be enough to satisfy her, but he hadn't yet known her well enough to suppose she could be content with such an answer. He was very surprised to see her become angry at his remark.

_"Simpletons, You say! How can you be so barbaric! Of course your 'countrymen' would know what they want from their government! I would think they would know more than you, or any of your royal court! You can't say that someone under a tyrannical rule doesn't have any thoughts at all about that rule!"_ She had yelled, startling him.

_"How can you be so stupid! Trust me, your 'commoners' will be happier if you at least allowed them some say in government...They will trust you more to lead them properly, and at least you can give one of your responsibilities of ruling a country to people who won't use that power for material gain, but to help ease their own, and neighbors hardships in their lives!"_ Then she ran away from him fuming, but yelled behind her as she went, _"Dictator!"_

A few days later, his curiosity overcame his anger at her appalling behavior, and in a would-be calm voice asked what the meaning of a 'Dictator' was.

She had answered him in a similar tone that a Dictator was an absolute ruler that was neither elected, born into, or chosen as one, but ruler by force, that usually ruled with little or no regard for those who they ruled, but only cared for the power gained through forced rule.

_"Why did you call me that!"_ He barked at her, his pride hurt more than he would have liked to admit.

"_You just don't seem to care what your people would want, Van. Consider if youwere forced to follow someone that didn't care what you would need, let alone want. If you don't allow them to follow you and let you rule them without resentment, then you won't turn out to be the ruler you want to be. Do you want your people to hate you, or love you?"_

Silence had followed those words, and he hadn't brought up the conversation with her again afterwards, but he had stayed up many nights since pondering her words.Was it then, or before that, where he noticed the intelligence and passion that drove Hitomi to be who she was? When did he truly begin to be drawn to her?

As the war raged on, her seemingly crazy words about government seemed to ring true as he witnessed the horror of the tyrannical rule of Dornkirk in Zaibach, until he couldn't refuse the logic behind them, and instead of pondering government, he had soon began to wonder about another topic, one that even now he pondered with enthusiasm, and a nervous energy that seemed to blur all of his other thoughts.

His thoughts wandered away from her intelligence and lingered on her personality, charisma, and other aspects that made more enticing questions that he could only wonder about now, but hoped to learn answers to soon, and only from the object of his most engulfing thoughts...

_Such a beautiful day... To match such a beautiful girl..._

XX

As he reached the COM room and stepped inside, he was so wrapped in his thoughts he almost ran into Donte.

"Your Majesty, " Donte asked, avoiding a collision, Are you okay?"

"Yes! I mean…yes. Is everyone here, Donte?" He asked, trying to act normally.

"Yes, but Allen isn't here yet."

Van nodded and took his seat at the head of a long table, surrounded by the members of the council of Fanelia.

Originally because of the deaths of the council, he had replaced the council with those of the Fanelian guard and remaining small army that had survived the attack on the country two years ago, and the council had twelve members, ranging in age of 17 to 70, most members wise and trusting, though not entirely organized, and more than one wasn't the best councilor.

Among the council was the youngest, Donte, who was also the only animal man, and Gothel, his head advisor.

"How are you, your majesty? I hope your doing well, but we have some pressing business to attend to."

Van recomposed himself, and turned to Gothel, now speaking intently to him from across the room.

"Our reports from the Alliance tell us that Diaz is already gathering allies from the north, meaning Basram is no longer part of the alliance."

A silence hit the room. Every member knew what this meant.

"What!"

Van was suddenly angry, a horrible thought crossing his mind after hearing this trying bit of information.

One of his trusted allies turning to Zaibach was definitely bad, especially one as powerful as Basram , the same country that tipped the balance of power in the last war with their ultimate weapon. To loose a powerful ally like that was unacceptable.

"We have to send a diplomat to the country, to try to nullify Basram 's alliance with Zaibach." A man of 45 at the far-left end of the table interjected.

The company nodded in agreement.

Allen came in suddenly without warning. He looked a bit flustered, as if he had been running.

"What's going on?" he asked angrily, walking right up to Van and slamming his fist on the table.

"What are you talking about? Allen, don't undermine me here. You are a quest, but I am the host, so treat me well."

Allen looked much taken aback at the response of Van, but he still looked angry. "I heard that the council was corrupt, but to this extent!" He yelled, turning to the council.

Allen had come here as a messenger from the new Queen of Austuria, Millerna, had a lot of valuable information about the countries around Fanelia and beyond, and was the ambassador to Fanelia from Austuria and his Queen and King.

Over the two-year span of Hitomi's absence, Millerna had renewed her marriage to Dryden, and both were trying to remake the government after the death of King Aston soon after her departure. For him to come in and yell about anything was insolent, and Van was becoming irritated by this meeting more then he thought he would be.

All the members of the council stared with intense hatred toward Allen, silently cursing him.

"What is the meaning of this?" The oldest man of the council rose to his feet, raising his fist to the young knight, shaking vigorously.

"I believe Allen should explain himself before we get ahead of ourselves." Gohel said calmly, his low voice cutting through the thick, heavy atmosphere of the room.

Allen started, at first facing Van, but turned to face the men of the council his face contorted with rage that rivaled Van in battle. "I have heard that a man of this council has been leaking information on our weapons, plans and projects of defense to a double agent of Ziabach. One of the merchants on his way to Austuria was attacked and killed, who was really an agent of the Alliance this morning. He was carrying information on our secret weapon. The information was taken when the man was killed, meaning that someone has taken it! Only a member of this council would know about the agent, so tell me what is going on!"

"What proof is there of this?" The old man said angrily, taking a step forward.

"It doesn't matter. We have to worry about Basram now, Allen." Van suddenly said.

The whole room stared back at him.

"I believe that in the best interests of the country and the Alliance that we attend to the more pressing matter. Without Basram , we cannot hope to win this war. The supposed conspiracy of this council is of less importance."

Van had risen to his feet, speaking calmer than anyone in the room had seen him before.

"We will, however, have to seize the control of the council temporarily to look into the matter of betrayal. We cannot allow any traitors to this country to get away with their crimes. I will have to see to this matter personally. If anyone has objections, they can tell me when I come to them. This meeting is adjourned."

Without another word, he walked out of the room. Everyone stared at the man as he left, at a loss for words. Allen followed him out of the room, still fuming.

The sudden ending to the meeting sparked a large argument among the council members, all of whom were confused and angry at the accusations of Allen. The oldest began yelling something about how Allen couldn't be trusted, while another simply laughed at the idea of a conspiracy. Donte remained quiet, thinking about the day's events.

The only one who hadn't seemed phased by the accusations was Gothel. His face was emotionless except for one thing. He was smiling.

(All right, that is the end of this chapter. I don't think it wasn't very long, but I don't think it had to be much longer. I tried to get to the point quickly this chapter. (Not!)

Who could betray Van? Find out soon. Don't worry, There will be more action involving Van and Hitomi next chapter, but I had to get this part out of the way. Gothel might have to appear more often now, because I have something planned for him, and I don't think it's as easy to figure out as you might think it is. What if it's so obvious that it's obviously not what it seems? Read to find out.

I will have the next chapter up soon! Maybe...TT)


	7. conspiracies under the balcony

(Alright I'm back. Hope you guys aren't too bored with the story now, but it will get better. READ NOW TO FIND OUT! I kind of went a different direction then what I wanted for this next chapter, but oh well. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Esca, especially Van...mmmm... but I don't. All I own are rights to this fan fic I created with my sad little mind. Don't sue, please.)

Walking the length of the castle, Hitomi and Yukari were having a pretty good time trying to find everything interesting about it.

They spent most of the morning in the garden, admiring the beautiful and exotic plant life and small animals, then they went indoors to enjoy a stroll by the top of the building.

Yukari had never seen the world before, so she was obviously very impressed. She would look out over the view of the countryside from the highest window near the top of the castle and say quietly how beautiful it was, sighing and smiling at the sight of the town and forest far below them, but inwardly Hitomi was a bit bored.

She hadn't seen Van at all that day and for some reason it worried her.

_Maybe I just need to calm down. Nothing is wrong with Van right now, so stop worrying. _

As her and Yukari turned a corner, the young knight from the day before came into view, strolling down the corridor with a little spring in his step.

When he saw the girls, he immediately bent low to the ground, his legs straight up and back curved into a small arch.

Hitomi continued forward, blushing at the gesture, but Yukari stopped in her tracks. She seemed a little apprehensive, but a small smile lit her face and she took a step toward the knight.

He looked up, a bit surprised at the girl standing in front of him, a slight blush forming on his freckled face.

Yukari looked boldly at Hitomi and said, "go on without me. I would like to speak with this guy-I mean young man alone. Maybe he can help me see the sights."

Hitomi laughed at Yukari's face. She was a brick red, and the mock "tough girl," routine wasn't very effective. Hitomi nodded and walked slowly away, smiling to herself.

XX

Spark stood up straight as quickly as he could when he heard Hitomi's footsteps die away. When he was standing directly across from Yukari, he blushed crimson.

"Miss… Uchida…" he whispered, trying to hide his embarrassment and happiness at seeing her again. "I would love to escort you around the castle today." Yukari stepped forward and slowly offered her arm to him, and he took it in his.

"Thank you, Spark."

XX

Walking alone now, Hitomi decided to try to find Merle, but when she realized Merle would probably be at work, she was once again bored.

She walked a few floors down and suddenly felt tired, so she sat by an open window and looked up at the gathering clouds in the sky.

"I guess I should go back to my room."

She sat there for a moment longer, thinking how she could ever be of help to this world if there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

_Where is Van…? _

As she got up to leave and go to her room for a nap, the only logical thing to do now, something caught her eye at the bottom of her field of vision below the balcony on her floor, overlooking another floor.

Gothel was below, standing by the north wall near a pillar of stone.

He looked happy about something.

Hitomi felt herself become very uncomfortable as she stood there watching him. She felt as though Gothel knew she was watching him.

Whenever she got this feeling, something bad always happened. She wanted to leave, but when she saw who Gothel was looking at, she held back.

A very pretty young woman walked up to him from a part of the castle Hitomi could not see. She was saying something to Gothel, who nodded and made his reply.

In the back of her mind, like a stereo switch coming on, Hitomi could somehow hear what they were saying.

It truly scared her.

"All is well," Gothel was saying to the girl, whose face was turned around, so Hitomi couldn't see.

"We just have a set back. Allen has somehow caught wind of a spy within Van's council. You should have been more careful, but that can't be helped. Tonight, make yourself known, but don't make it know to everyone. Only one person has to die tonight."

Hitomi got goosebumps. She felt her heart grow cold with dread as she watched the two below plot someone's death, as calmly as though they were planning a picnic.

"Who is it, sir? Van?" The girl asked. Her voice was cold and monotone.

"No. Another. If she isn't disposed of, we will have problems. Those alliance pigs brought her in, a weapon at their disposal. Not only that, but also another has appeared with her. Van wouldn't have brought two unless she was of equal importance. Don't kill her yet. She may be of some use."

Hitomi saw the girl nod, and then she bowed to Gothel, turned around, and walked away. Her mind went numb as she saw the image of the girl before her.

She didn't look like a girl any older then 15, with glowing amber eyes that were deep and freezing, chilling her to the bone, and hair the color of the evening, when the purple sky of sunset slowly turned dark. She had a clear but pale complexion, and emotionless face that resembled Gothel's.

If Hitomi hadn't been frightened witless thinking about the current turn of events, she would have thought they were related.

A realization came over her, as if a pile of bricks had been poured into her stomach. Gothel was trying to kill her!

She inwardly screamed.

"How could this be happening! "I have to find Van…" she whispered to herself, and she scrambled to her feet, her whole body shaking.

She felt like crying, screaming, doing anything to release the fear and anger she felt now, but she had to get help.

She was in danger, and not even Van's own council could be trusted. The fairy tale she had in her mind of returning to Gaea was gone now.

She rounded a corner, tears welling up in her eyes, and slowly making their way down her face. She ran down the hall, her vision blurring, when she ran strait into Celina.

The force knocked her off balance, and she fell to the ground. Celina bent down and offered her hand.

"Are you alright?" she said, as Hitomi took her hand.

"I have to find Van." She replied, wiping her face.

"Why? Did something happen?" Celina sounded concerned, a twinge of fear on her pale face.

"Gothel is a traitor..." Hitomi said quietly, grabbing Celina's arm tightly.

"What?" Celina questioned, confused. _what is she talking about? _

"I have to warn Van!" She suddenly let go and dashed off down the hall, not looking back.

_Where are you? _

(And that's the end of that chapter. I hope it was intriguing to you. I think I got the job done. So, who didn't know Gothel was the traitor? I thought it was kind of obvious, but oh well... Or is he really a traitor, or just misunderstood? Maybe it's too obvious, you know what I mean? Find out soon. Can anyone guess who the other person is? I bet you can't remember. Go back a few chapters and it will make sense. I hope you read more. I'll write more soon.

R&r please!)


	8. Running

(Hello! I'm back! Sorry it took a while, I've been busy. I just got finished with a really big research project in English, went on my band tripYes, I'm in band, and play the trumpet. Sue me. and just this week finished my exit level TAKS test, which lasted all week. I'm so happy I don't have to worry about that anymore! Anyway, all I got to worry about now are my SAT's later this spring, hopefully, and my finals. I will be so happy when school is over! Well, sorry about rambling about my pathetic life, and get on with things. I wanted to go ahead and continue this part of the story, so I won't go to a different person this chapter. Hitomi pov.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the painfully easy to figure out plot , and a few meaningless characters along the way. My life is so empty... :(:(:(:(:(:(LoL!

It seemed like a dream. Only yesterday, she had returned, at least remotely happy that she was back, but now she had to worry about betrayal and treachery already.

_So tiring..._

Her feet were beginning to hurt, and her legs were cramping, but still there was no sight of Van.

The castle was large, and because she didn't know her way around it, she had trouble locating anything.

She soon found herself downstairs in an unfinished part of the castle, where workers were still building the walls around her, and the noise was driving her crazy. She felt a headache begin to form between her temples, throbbing in succession with the pain in her legs.

She stopped once she was away from the workers and slid against a wall, rubbing one hand against her right leg, the other holding her head up, her eyes pressed against it.

_Maybe I should dowse to find him..._

It seemed to be a good plan, so she stood up again, facing ahead and ran blindly forward, her eyes closed tight.

After a while she decided it wasn't such a good idea after all, because she couldn't concentrate on what she wanted to find, trying desperately to focus to use dowsing in her mind. She ran for so long, but nothing appeared, nothing happened. Nothing popped up in her mind, it was clouded and untrained. Her worry and doubt was like a thick fog in her mind, blurring her inner vision.

_Where is he? I have to find him…._

XX

Hitomi ran for what seemed hours, when she calmed down. It was a mixture of tiredness and realization that stopped her running.

_ He wants to kill me, then he would have already done it. I have to calm down, and get back to my room. Van was probably already looking for me. I know Gothel won't try anything with Van there…I hope…_

She turned around, and found herself very lost. It was getting darker around her, a bit darker then she cared it to be.

Very little light was in this part of the castle. A small window on the far end of the hall was the only light source near her though; obliviously she had stumbled into another part of unfinished construction.

There were columns and ramps leading up the right wall, half of which wasn't there, a portion of the wall missing, revealing the sky above. She could clearly see the sun setting under the wide canopy of the dragon forest, and an eerie wolf cry she could hear in the distance sending a chill down her back, coupled with the cool feel of the night breeze on her bare legs.

She turned back and walked the way she came, trying to get her bearings.

The cool night air whipped past her as she exited the hall, feeling much better that the new one she entered had more light. She was in such a rush, she almost didn't notice the many patterns that adorned the hall, which might have other wise been unrecognizable, if not for the added light of the torches on the walls.

Instead of magnificence implied on the many paintings and patterns of the Asturian castle, the patterns on the wall here were those of simple, elegant beauty. Hitomi couldn't help but stop to admire the walls, momentarily forgetting her panic.

She marveled at the craftsmanship of the swirls of blue and green paint on the walls, depicting many grassy fields of summer, and the yellow and orange of the writing there. Although she couldn't read Fanelian, she was sure whatever the inscriptions on the wall told of the wonders of nature and the glory of a blue sky on a cloudless day, forever etched into eternity on the paintings before her.

Something caught her eye, a little above her, to an image in the sky painted a little ways down the wall.

She gasped.

Her hand grazed the white of a lone feather painted to side of the wall.

_It's so beautiful..._

"Hey! Young lady, you shouldn't be here!"

Hitomi was startled by a loud voice beside her. She took a wild step back from the wall and wheeled around.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble." Hitomi bent down in a bow to whoever had startled her, hoping she had done anything wrong.

"I was just lost…" As she bent up to speak, she felt unnerved by the presence of the person speaking.

She came face to face with an older, heavy set man with light brown hair covering his face, and little curls on the top of his visibly thinning hairline at the top of his head.

The man's voice softened considerably when he could clearly see the woman he was talking with. "Lost? This castle isn't that big. How could you be lost?"

Hitomi felt a little embarrassed by the statement.

_Isn't that big? You try running around in it for hours! _

"My name is Jonah. I didn't mean to scare you. Would you like some help?"

Hitomi nodded slowly, but took a step back. "Thank you."

Jonah led her to the main areas of the castle, talking softly to her about nothing but small talk, and soon Hitomi was comfortable again.

"I hope I meet you again!" Jonah exclaimed as he headed off again, leaving Hitomi alone.

She had calmed down a bit more now that she was in a part of the castle she recognized.

"I think I ought to find Van." She thought aloud, walking slowly toward her room.

"Hitomi? Why are you speaking to yourself?"

Hitomi almost jumped out of her skin. Yukari had walked up, looking happy to see her.

"Hitomi, I have been looking for you forever! Where have you been?" Yukari hit Hitomi playfully on her shoulder, then pulled her in closer, whispering in her ear, "I bet I know where you were! I haven't seen Van all day today either! You little fox!" Despite herself, Hitomi couldn't help but laugh.

"I haven't seen him today! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Hitomi paused, then whispered back, a bit more seriously, but still trying to ebb the fear building within her, "I need to talk to him…I think something bad happened!"

"Huh?" Yukari released her grip on Hitomi, and took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you know where Van is?" Her panic showing clearly now on her face, no doubt frightening Yukari.

Yukari shook her head, suddenly looking sad. "I don't know where he is. I'm sorry Hitomi."

_Ugh! Where is he? He didn't just leave! I can't believe I can't find him, and now she can't? I had no idea he could disappear like this... How irresponsible!_

Hitomi was getting impatient. Van was right there last night, but now he seemed to evaporate. Today just wasn't her day.

"You should get something to eat. It's been a long day." A man's voice behind them interjected, the cold and curt manner sending chills down the girls' back.

Hitomi turned around, her fear and worry returning.

"Sir G-Gothel." Hitomi heard herself say, taking a step back, staring fearfully up at the one man she had tried so hard to avoid.

(That is the end! I hope you liked it! I wrote a little bit less then usual, but not that much. I hope you read more later! I write more soon...hopefully. If you you R&r maybe I can get the next chapter up quicker.

PLEASE!)


	9. Embraces and revelations

(Hello! I'm back! I hope you enjoyed last chapter! I wish I had got more reviews, but oh well. Nothing I can do. I know last chapter wasn't very long, but I had to end it in a good place, and I thought that was as good as any. I hope you like this chapter because it's a little longer than the last one. Enjoy, and please review. I need the help. Don't forget this is my first fanfic, so I really would appreciate reviews, Thanks. I know it's been a while sense I last updated, but I don't want to get into the horrors of my life now, but I found the time to update now. I mean come on, I was extremely distracted for a while there, what with, sleeping, eating, and looking for a jobstill don't got one, oh, and Harry Potter coming outI'm what you could call obsessiveI really lost track of time. Sorry again. I WOULD LIKE MORE REVIEWS! I just might get the next chapter up much sooner if you would review. I think you will when you read this chapter. Read on and find out what I mean!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the demented thoughts in my head, the plot and a few faceless characters now and then. I don't own anything else. I wish I did, though...)

"I hope you have been enjoying your stay with us." Gothel said to the girls in front of him, a forced grin across his face.

Hitomi tried to remain calm, but seeing Gothel now was not what she needed.

_I need to go…He isn't a good man. Why is this man here? He's why…I feel so helpless. _

Hitomi suddenly felt ill, like all the air was sucked out of her lungs, and her vision blurred. She looked away from Gothel, trying to stay upright and not fall forward. She took in a deep breath.

"Do you know where sir Van might be? I have been unable to locate him or sir Allen all day. There is a pressing matter I need to inform them of." Gothel said quietly to her, the disdain in his voice unnerving.

"We haven't seen him." Yukari answered him forcibly, drawing his attention away from Hitomi.

"I thought he would be with you, but I suppose he had better… Er…other things to do." Gothel responded, chuckling softly. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he bowed to them and said in a grotesquely sweet way, "Have a good night, Ladies." He turned and walked away, leaving Hitomi and Yukari in the hall, happy at his departure.

"What a creep!" Yukari said stamping her foot on the ground when Gothel was out of earshot. "He gets on my nerves. I wonder why Van would hire him." Hitomi herself was questioning Van's reasons for keeping such a man as an adviser, one whose presence, whose very speech and mannerisms disturbed her to the core.

Her sickness hadn't left her, in fact, seemed to gain in unforgiving strength as she tried unsuccessfully to block his sudden arrival from her troubled mind.

She had to find Van in the hope, through him she might find peace.

"We'd better get going." Yukari said suddenly, grabbing Hitomi's arm, shacking her thoughts for an all to quick moment. "I think Merle will know where Van is." She nodded, and they head off in the direction of the kitchens, Hitomi forcing herself forward, but as they neared their destination, Hitomi could feel a growing sense of dread in the pit of her stomach, as if something was about to happen, not now, but soon. It feared her, not knowing what it was, or what she could do to stop it.

XX

Dinner wasn't as grand as the night before. Today they were eating in a smaller room, with mostly benches and small tables, made of the most modest maple wood. They found Merle at one of the tables and sat down. Yukari immediately began to eat as soon as she could grab the food in front of her, but Hitomi merely took a piece of the meat presented to her and nibbled half-heartedly at it, her mind elsewhere. She didn't know what the meat was, but it tasted something like beef, but it was sweeter, almost like it had been roasted next to some sort of berry. It was tender and juicy, but much larger than any beef she had seen before. She used her teeth and hands to get through the chunk of meat on her plate, the light brown color of the food getting dangerously close to her uniform.

"This is good." she heard Yukari say, taking another bite of hers. "I wonder what it is." Hitomi nodded, but really didn't care.

_All I know is it's good. That's all I need to know._

Her stomach quieted as she ate, but her mind did not as the night wore on, so she often looked around the room they were sitting in, wishing for Van to come in to stop her torment.

A few others were in the room with them, sitting sprawled out on various benches and tables; men and women laying back to relax after a hard days work. They all seemed so calm.

_If only they knew._

Merle only stayed with them silently, also looking around the room, searching

for someone. From Hitomi's guess, it was probably the cat-boy Donte she was waiting for. After about half an hour of waiting however, Hitomi could tell Merle was getting impatient. Her tail was twitching slightly, and she jumped whenever Yukari spoke to her, as if she too was lost in her own thoughts.

_I know how that feels._

Her thoughts strayed again to Van. How she wished he was holding her now, his broad shoulder against her cheek, his strong yet strangely soft arms wrapped around her body, the warmth of his hard, chiseled chest against hers. She had to know if she would ever see him, now or ever if what she now feared came to pass.

_ Maybe Merle knows where he is..._

"Merle…"

Merle jumped, then turned back, frowning.

"Yes? What Hitomi?" she asked, the annoyance evident in her voice.

"Do you know were Van is? I haven't seen him all day." Hitomi continued, a slight tremor shook her as she spoke.

Merle scratched her head, looking confused. "I thought he was with you all day." She replied, the twitch growing in her tail. "I haven't seen him sense after the meeting this morning. He was in a hurry, so I didn't talk to him. I just assumed he was looking for you."

Yukari butted in now, swallowing the food in her mouth to speak, forgetting the sauce still on her face.

"I saw him today." She said loudly, waving her head slowly to get their attention.

The two girls both looked over, confusion etched on every part of their faces. "When?" They both said at the same time, both rather shrilly.

"You said that you hadn't seen him today!" Hitomi couldn't help feeling anger through the mix of new emotions she now felt.

"I was walking with Spark," she began, taking a sip of her drink, obviously unaware of the effects her words had on her companions. " When Van walked past us in a corridor. Spark bowed, but I asked how he was. He said he was alright, not in those words, but you know... he looked in a rush, he didn't say much. I kept following him, even though Spark wasn't... Anyway, he looked kind of worn out, but it was only the middle of the day, so I asked him, **_"Are you alright, Van?"_** He stopped walking and looked at me. He was wearing some old clothing, probably meant for training or something. I thought he had just gone to practice something and tired himself out. He said that he was going to leave, but he would be back later today, and not to worry about him. I nodded and motioned Spark to get up. By the time he did, Van had already walked down the hall and out of sight. I thought that maybe he was going to the woods to train some more. Spark told me Van liked to go there during the day to train, so I thought nothing of it, only that he looked so tired. Then Spark said something strange…" She paused, trying to remember.

**_"Why did he have the royal sword?"_** Spark said, dusting his pants off. **_"He never uses it for training anymore."_** I was confused, so I asked, **_"What do you mean?"_**

He answered, **_"He only uses his sword while traveling. Like identification on the road to let other nations know who he is. He never takes it with him to the woods."_** I was alarmed, but I thought, he said he'd be back soon…he said so." She stopped, reading the expressions on the listeners' faces. Both were of shock and fear.

"He didn't say where he was going?" Hitomi said trying to hold the desperation out of her voice. "He didn't tell you?" Merle said quietly, grabbing Yukari's arm.

"No. I'm sorry." Yukari lowered her head, no longer looking at them. "I should have told you sooner."

They were silent, not one of them able to say anything. Van's disappearance now was very unexpected, and unwelcome. Now the prospect of him actually being outside the castle was a horrible thing, that sent the sickness that had left her back in crushing fource. If he left, what would happen to her now?

"He might have gone to a neighboring country." Merle said quietly, breaking the silence. Arzas isn't very far. He probably needed to send word to them about what was discussed today in the meeting. I'm sure he'll be back later." She put a hand on Hitomi's shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile.

_When did she start comforting me? When did I get so childish? When did she grow up?_

"Thanks Merle." Hitomi said quietly, smiling up at her.

"You know, I could tell you something that will make you feel better." Merle said suddenly, a devilish grin now spread across her face.

"What?" Hitomi replied, confused.

"When Van gets back, he usually likes to just go to bed, you know, skips the evening meeting and just goes off to sleep. He'll probably do that today." Hitomi wasn't following.

_That means I won't see him at all today! That isn't comforting!_

"Go on," she replied, a little more bitterly than she intended.

"Well, you could be the first person he sees when he gets back." She said, patting her playfully on the back.

"How?"

"You know that door in your room, the one on the far end? That leads directly to Van's room."

"WHAT!" Yukari yelled, drawing attention from passing servants.

"What do you mean?" Hitomi questioned, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"I made sure you got that room when Spark brought you there." Merle replied, laughing. "So you two could be closer."

Hitomi stood up, grabbed Merle by the shoulders and starting shaking her. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT SOONER!" She yelled, shaking more violently.

Merle started laughing again, "It slipped my mind!" she yelled back pushing Hitomi offher. "Sorry." she said smiling, laughing harder as she watched Hitomi run the length of the room and out the door, cursing not so quietly to herself as she went.

XX

It had been a long day. Van felt very tired.

_To think I was happy this morning. I just want to get some rest…_

His trip to the Arzas had taken all of his energy, and he felt totally worn out. He went straight to his room and closed his door, not bothering to light the candles.

He went over to his bed and lay down, closing his eyes. His tiredness overcame his sense of hunger; he hadn't eaten all day. As he lay there in the dark, his mind wandered to the events of the day that made him so tired…

The wolf tribe was very welcoming to him when he first got there earlier that day, but they all knew what he was going to ask them. Van asked for help with this possibility of war, this time from the elder himself, for anyone that could aid him as he would undoubtedly need the help. The elder had told him that he could not, and nor could anyone else of the village help.

**_"We are simple, quiet people," _**they had said, _**"and we wish to remain only simple merchants, selling to the weary traveler. We know little of conspiracy and war. I am sorry."**_

Van's uneasy mind shifted, this time thinking of the words that Allen had said before he left…**** **_"You and I both know that a traitor is the last thing we need now. We need to get this over with quickly, before it gets out of hand. I think they can't turn you down anymore…but if that does happen, know that they will never betray you."_**

_Won't turn me down huh? Isn't that what they always do?_

He rolled over, feeling groggy eyes open and his empty stomach contract when he put his weight on it.

_I'm hungry…I should have gone down to get something to eat…At least I would have seen Hitomi…_

He closed his heavy eyes again, turned on his side, and thought of her.

Hitomi.

He could see so clearly in his mind her face. Its smooth peachy, golden color, mixed with the pink of her cheeks under her startlingly green eyes... the smile that was wide and inviting, filling her face when she laughed, small and sweet when she was shy. He thought of her long slender body, the grace of her step everywhere she went. His cheeks burned as he pictured the soft but pronounced swell of her breasts and curve of her hips, and he suddenly felt an uncomfortable tightness he tried unsuccessfully to calm by rolling on his stomach again.

_I have to sleep... and I can't if I keep on like this..._

Van felt himself falling into sleep, Hitomi all his tired mind could think of, when he heard a soft knock on the door on the far right of the room.

He sat up, startled.

His drained brain couldn't register the sound of the knock for a moment, but through the sudden silence that followed in the darkness, something dawned on him.

_Nobody's ever in that room…_

He got up, just in time for another knock, this one a bit louder than before. Whoever this was, they seemed to want to wake him.

In his rush to get to bed, he hadn't bothered to remove his sword, which he unsheathed as he drew toward the door. He hesitated.

_Should I ask who it is? It could just be Merle…_

He could hear breathing on the other end of the door, soft and fast.

_Probably Merle._

"Me-"

"Van? Are you in there?"

Van jumped back.

"Hitomi!" He lowered his sword and slowly answered back, trying to hide his surprise.

"Hitomi? I was just going to sleep…is…there something you w-wanted?"

Cursing himself for stuttering, he resolved to remain silent until Hitomi spoke again, but there was silence from the door. Van could no longer hear her breathing. For a moment it seemed eerily quiet, as if the room was shrinking in around him, then he heard her say, "I need to talk to you Van."

Van was getting confused at the tone of her voice, like it was almost pained, as if talking was the last thing she really wanted to do. His heartbeat quickened as he opened the door.

He could barely see her as she stepped in, but he could tell by her movement where she was. She was slowly making her way into the door, her soft steps making tapping noises on the wooden floors.

She brushed past him in her haste into the room, and Van had to move away from her so she couldn't see his face. "Do you want me to light a candle?" Van said, taking a step in the direction of the nearest one. A thought inside him said he really wanted to see her, but again he was surprised when she said in his direction, "No. I don't want any light." She paused, and added, "Lock the door."

Once again he was taken aback by the request, but he clumsily obeyed her, turning back to the door and turned the key protruding from under the knob, hearing the soft _click_ of the door's lock as he turned it.

He turned his head around from the door and tried to make her out in the darkness. There where only shadows in the little light he had casting its way in from the curtained window by his bed. Why couldn't he see her?

"Is something wrong Hitomi?" He made his way to the window and stood beside it, waiting for her reply.

There was a silence, long and pronounced by the small quick breaths of Hitomi, somewhere near him.

She finally broke the stillness, "I saw something very bad today…and I thought I should tell you." She came into view right beside him and sat on the bed next to him, her face pointed down, looking away from him.

He stood where he was, oddly reluctant to sit beside her, like her body language told him not to. "What happened?" he asked calmly, placing his hand bashfully on her shoulder.

"Today I saw a woman…" Hitomi started, her body shaking slightly as she spoke. Van wished he could hold her but stayed where he was. Hitomi began to talk again, her gaze unchanging.

"She was Gothel's daughter…" Hitomi stopped again, her shaking growing worse.

"Why was Gothel's daughter here?" Van asked as calmly as he could. A siren was going off in his head. The appearance of Gothel's daughter was odd, and it worried him.

_What could Gothel be planning that would effect even Hitomi?_

"She was speaking with him in the courtyard today about something." Hitomi continued, her body trembling even worse, shaking Van slightly.

"What?"

She paused, a notable sound of fear in her voice as she answered.

"He wants to kill us Van. He wants to kill us both." A silence filled the room once more.

He didn't understand at first, but as the minutes of quiet passed around him, his groggy brain began to wake itself up again. Uncharted anger he hadn't known before began to grow inside him as he came to relize the true impact of Hitomi's stunning words.

_How could I have been so blind? All the signs, the hints, the clues, and I was oblivious to them and now I might get Hitomi hurt because of it! I can't believe I could be such an Idiot!_

Without realizing it, he stepped away from Hitomi and looked blankly out of the window, trying to comprehend all the information Hitomi had just divulged. Then he heard it.

The sweet, sad sound of Hitomi's tears falling onto the fabric of her clothes.

It tore at Van's heart to hear the sound. He wanted to do anything to stop her pain, to let her escape the fear and sadness inside her, to take all her suffering away. He turned back around.

Hitomi had raised her head now to reveal her emerald colored eyes, the steady flow of tears from them reflecting the swimming light from the window behind him. Van couldn't remember seeing anything so delicate or beautiful in his life.

Her shy voice spoke in a watery soft tone, coughing as she said, burying her face in her hands, "I'm scared Van! I don't want you to die…" Van bent beside her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her at long last. She sobbed onto his shoulder, the warm wetness slowly staining his shirt.

"I don't want you to cry Hitomi…Please don't cry…"

Hitomi lowered her hands and let them lay on Van's arms, and for a moment they just sat there.

After a few seconds of silence, Hitomi spoke quietly into Van's ear, her breath sending goosebumps down the length of his body, "I missed you, Van. I haven't seen you all day." Hitomi's shaking stopped, and she wrapped her arms around Van's chest, pulling herself closer to him. Her tears had seemed to stop flowing.

Van tightened his grip on Hitomi, feeling his heart quicken as she drew near. I missed you too."

The room grew darker as a cloud covered the moon for a moment, and that sudden darkness awoke something in Van. Time had stopped for them so that only the light from Hitomi's eyes could glow, the only thing he could make out in the darkness of the world.

_She is the only thing I want…to protect her from everything in this world and anywhere. Her smile…her face…her eyes…her body…her warmth…nothing can take her from me…I have to protect her._

"Could I stay here for a while Van? I don't want to be alone."

Van felt heat rise to his face as soon as she spoke, but he answered calmly, "Alright Hitomi."

He let go of Hitomi and got up, making a move toward the candles again. He had to get a chair for himself if Hitomi planned to stay in his bed. It might not be in his best interests to sleep in a chair, but he had to be a gentleman.

"I'll sleep in this chair," he said as he lit a candle, getting the one by the far left of the room. He heard Hitomi move on the bed, obviously making herself more comfortable.

"Van…you don't need a chair. It's okay if we share. I would feel uncomfortable to sleep all alone on this big bed."

Van turned around the top of the chair in is right hand. His blush returned when he saw Hitomi on the right side of his bed, the other side vacant for him.

Hitomi was already covered up to her neck, but Van could see in the low candlelight a blush across her face. "Come on," she said, gesturing to the open spot on the bed.

Van put the chair he was holding down and walked as slowly as he could over to the bed, careful not to trip over his own feet as he did so. "Alright... Hitomi…"

He sat down on the side of the bed, putting the candle from his left hand on the small table beside him. He didn't think he could look at Hitomi right now, not with his face the color of his shirt. He removed his boots and sword, placing it right beside his table, in-between it and his bed.

"Van? Could you blow out the candle?"

Van looked back over his shoulder for a bit to look at Hitomi. His face got even redder as she tugged on his shirt, her eyes tired and almost closed. He turned around and bent to blow out the candle, then he laid down as quickly as he could.

He didn't know if he should get underneath the covers at first, but the sudden cold he felt as he reached his pillow made him change his mind. He slid slowly underneath the cover, instantly feeling the warmth from Hitomi's body close to his. His blush deepened, and his body felt tense.

He didn't know what to do.

He hurriedly turned his back away from Hitomi so she couldn't see his red face.

Hitomi reached around him and hugged him against her soft chest in the darkness, whispering quietly near his ear, "Thank you Van."

Her warmth engulfed him, relaxing him quickly as her steady heartbeat beat against his back. It didn't take long for him to turn and face her. He pulled her closer to him, so that her chest was against his. "Goodnight Hitomi."

He would have loved to stay awake, to watch her descend into sleep as he plotted to take his revenge against Gothel, but against his will he felt his body getting heavy, and the tiredness he held back for so long engulfed him, sending instantly to sleep.

XX

She didn't let it register at first. She was so comfortable, she couldn't imagine anything would happen to her that night.

She didn't want to wake up

The way he held her was so soothing, anything around her was nothing to her, blurry and faded.

In her dream she could see his face, his youthful smile drawing her close, the untamed black of his hair dancing on a slight breeze, brushing against her nose as they embraced. His strong arms entwined around her middle, his warmth filling her. She could feel his breathing on the back of her neck.

She opened her eyes.

The room was pitch black, only the light from the moons could be seen from the window nearby.

_It must be night still…_

She felt arms around her waist, Van's chest against her back and something uncomfortably stiff near her lower back. Her face grew hot as she pushed an uncomfortable image from her head and tried to think of other things, but mind lingered on her impure thoughts.

_I_ c_an't believe I'm here! He's so bold! Maybe I should move and give him room..._

She thought of this for a moment, but thought better of it. _I might wake him…What am I afraid of? He won't do anything._

As she moved herself so that she was no longer uncomfortable, she felt him stir in his sleep, unconsciously pulling her closer to him.

The embrace startled her, but she felt to warm and protected in his arms, that her nervousness melted away as he held her.

She could hear the sound of his breathing against her neck. She felt good being near him, knowing she was here in his arms, away from the fears she had before he came into her life.

She had been so afraid. Afraid she would always be alone, her life short and meaningless. She felt like she would never find love.

Freshman year had been so different from junior high. She met so many great people, that the loneliness she felt younger had all but disappeared. She even thought she had found love.

Amano sempai had been so kind to her. Her first real guy friend. He listened to her when she spoke to him, let him know her problems. He was great. He was mature, tall and sweet. How could she not like him? She felt attracted to him because he would keep the emptiness inside her away. She was blind to the truth in front of her.

It wasn't real.

Her feelings for him weren't real. He was a kind face, a person who would never show his real self to her. False laughs and empty words. She didn't love him, and she never would.

Yukari's was real. She was person that truly loved him, and Hitomi had been blind to it. It took a long time to figure it out.

Even after leaving Earth, she didn't understand why she still felt empty.

Allen seemed to be different. He was the first kind face she saw on a strange world. The first to show real kindness to her after she came here. He was handsome, debonair and suave, much different from the boys back home. She thought he could be the answer to her emptiness and seemingly empty heart.

How could she not like him? He even looked like Amono, which reminded her of the things she left behind on Earth. Every time she saw him, she felt nostalgic.

She had shared her first kiss with him, a moment she would never forget. He seemed to be the thing she was searching for, right?

It just felt wrong.

Why didn't she feel right when he held her? It was as if her love was forced, made up in someone else's mind.

She was still empty. Still searching.

That night in the rain, after she kissed Allen, something happened. She looked away from him after their kiss, almost ashamed. She didn't feel right kissing him.

Then she saw him.

Van.

The rain had just stopped, but he was drenched, standing in a puddle on the street below watching them.

She suddenly felt a twinge of guilt mixed with surprise.

He must have been looking for her. She suddenly felt horrible when she saw the look on his face.

He looked heartbroken. Torn. His despair radiating from him, and she could feel it, under the chill of her clothes and cold skin. She felt his pain, like it had burrowed deep into her heart in that fragile moment.

She tried to call to him, but he ran away and disappeared down the empty road as quickly as he had come.

It felt empty again, standing on the bridge with Allen.

Why was her heart beating so quickly, yet so heavily against her chest? A deep pain filled the empty space within her. Why did she feel this way?

Reflecting on that time later, the day of Millerna's wedding, she blushed at the thought of Van standing below her, watching her, even as she watched Allen.

She didn't understand. It seemed that every time he held her, she felt safe, the thought of him giving her a strange feeling.

It was different with him, the others felt empty to her, but he... he filled her with a fierce passion and another, somehow quiet emotion. A confusing blend of feeling she couldn't explain away.

She almost lost him. She almost lost what she was searching for when she left. If he hadn't come for her, she didn't know if she could go on living. When he called to her, she felt happier than she ever had before.

He came for her even at the end, when she realized what she needed. He held her that day on the last battle and she felt her heart expand.

She knew then that she loved him.

Tonight, laying here in his arms, nothing else mattered. He was all she needed to be happy. She could never leave him. She wanted the moment to go on forever, suspended forever in the ecstasy that was his touch, his embrace... him. She held his arms, hugging them closer to herself and smiled.

"I love you Van." she whispered to the night.

She felt his arms tighten against her chest. "I'll take that as a ditto." She giggled to herself and soon dropped off to sleep again, returning to her sweet dreams of the man beside her.

(There. I finished the chapter! I hope you liked it! Oh, and I don't have the courage to write everything in my head down, so let me tell you that I could have steered in the completely opposite direction right now in this fic. I don't have a mind in the gutter, but rolling in it, so I am proud to say I have amazing self-control. I hope you read more. Next chapter: The attack of the evil clone monkey robots! R&r to find out!)


	10. differing points of view

(I'm back! Just bear with the beginning, cause I have to get this out of the way before I can continue. Read on! It gets better! Oh, I hope you all liked last chapter, because I know I enjoyed writing it. This next one isn't as entertaining in my opinion, in fact, I got major writer's block for this chapter, but I wasn't supposed to say that. but enjoy! Take in mind before reading that it might not be as obvious as you think, plot wise. Can you figure it all out? Read, speculate and review please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own demented thoughts, so obviously I own nothing of value. Please don't sue...I suck with legal stuff.)

The plan was moving according to schedule. He had almost lost control when that girl showed up, but he was sure Kellia could take care of it.

As soon as she was out of the way, he would be in almost complete control of the entire country.

He walked down the corridor of the west wing, slowly making his way to his room certain that tomorrow would go the way he hoped. If Kellia didn't fail.

Gothel brushed his hair out of his face, stopping as he neared his door.

_I know what I have to do. As soon as they're out of the way, I can take this country. That whore dies, and everything will be on track again. Kellia will take the throne, and Van… you will be with your "Love" soon._

Stepping into the darkness of his chambers, a smile stretched across his face, and he laughed softly as he imagined what Van would find tomorrow morning.

"Hitomi will always be with you… but only in your dreams and fading memories, my young king." Gothel said mockingly in a low tone.

Immeasurable happiness filled his being, his sick laughter filling the room.

" Tomorrow will be hell for you…"

_Don't fail me Kellia. She will be easy to kill, once you infiltrate her room. No one will hear her scream…_

XX

Van's eyes opened slowly.

He sat up and stretched his arms, brushing the sleep from his eyes, trying to get his legs to move. He had to get up.

He had gotten to sleep later then usual yesterday, so he had probably overslept.

He couldn't remember the last time he had actually gotten sleep. His groggy mind couldn't comprehend why he had slept so well the night before, or why he felt so warm and comfortable in his sleep. In fact, maybe that was why his legs wouldn't move now.

Something was by him on the bed, radiating the warmth.

_What?_

He turned his head back, and his still groggy eyes fell on Hitomi.

Was it a dream? Hitomi in his bed, sleeping contently so close to him... It certainly was a common dream for him when sleep did come to him, but now was different. _She still has her clothes_... _first strange difference._

If it wasn't a dream, then why was she here? He had to think, to push his gradually perverted thoughts from his consciousness to think clearly. His unwilling mind wandered to the events that had happened the night before.

He remembered he was very tired, he had just gotten into bed when…

_Hitomi…_

As he looked down again at the sleeping maiden next to him, his mind tried to sort all that had happened, and despite his long sought rest, he still felt very tired as he thought about it...

**_"He wants to kill us Van. He wants to kill us both." "I'm scared Van! I don't want you to die…"._**

Van's rage welled up inside of him then, filling him with a sense of anger he'd known only once before, last night, as he watched Hitomi cry alone on his bed. Rage that he had to see that sadness. and a sickening delirium taking him inside the pain of seeing her cry and not doing anything to prevent it. He looked past Hitomi beside him and saw instead the pale set face of Gothel, smiling sickeningly as he must know doubt be now at his triumph over him!

He let that dog inside of his castle! Funded him and his daughter! He was his adviser!

" Treachery under my own nose…"

Despite himself, he felt a sudden pang of guilt beneath his anger.

_I should have seen the signs… known something. Even Merle sensed something was off about him…Why didn't I?_

"I'm a fool…" He put his head in his hands.

Everything was going so wrong. Nothing was going right. He wanted peace…peace for the world and peace of mind. Now it seemed that in this world, there was no peace…

Corruption, greed, and betrayal were the only things that Gothel stood for, and he'd been blind to it…He had dragged Hitomi into it.

_How could I be so blind…? What do I do now?_

"Van…" A soft voice beside him whispered.

He felt a hand cling to a clump of covers by his leg, and he looked down through the fingers in his cupped hands.

Hitomi was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly, her hand twitching as she spoke again. "I love you…I…" she smiled in her dream, moving unconsciously closer to him. "I'm so glad. I…will never leave you…never…" she turned her head slightly around, her hair falling across her face in a small, shimmering cascade, and she snuggled her head by her hand next to his leg.

As he watched her through his cupped hands, he smiled, some of his exhaustion leaving him as he watched her sleep.

He undid his hands and reached down, brushed the hair from her face, and bent to kiss her softly on her forehead.

Her smile widened in her restful dreamland, for now unaware of the troubles of the other occupant of the bed.

"I'll always love you, Hitomi…No one can take that from me."

He turned back and leaned against the headboard and pillows for a moment and closed his eyes. _I just want to stay here forever..._

But he couldn't.

He slid quietly from the bed, careful not to disturb her sleep. He had much to do today, and she needed to be safe if he was to accomplish anything at all.

_Gothel will pay for this treachery. I promise this, Hitomi._

He had to find Donte.

XX

_Where is she! I'm in trouble now! Where is she?_

Last night was supposed to have gone perfectly.

Her father told her everything she needed to know. He told her where to find her, how to get in undetected, and how to kill her. It all seemed so easy. How could everything have gone so wrong?

She had run along the corridor that led to Hitomi Kansaki's room, on the far end of the castle, out of the way. She had to make sure no one saw her walking in the direction of the corridor, which was out of bounds for all but a chose few the King had hand chosen. If caught, she'd go straight to the dungeon, regardless of who's child she was or not.

When the sun had faded, and the pale moon shown dimly through the open window beside her, she could see that the doors around here weren't open.

_Asleep…Good. I don't have to worry about waking anyone._

She crept silently through the corridor, making sure she was well hidden from view by blending with the shadows on the walls.

She finally reached the door she was searching for after a long search of the far wing and tentatively touched the door knob.

The door was unlocked.

_Big mistake, girl. One that will make my job easier..._

She stepped into the darkness of the room, feeling a sense of accomplishment. She could make out in the darkened room the silhouette of a bed in the corner, and she was certain what was behind the shimmery curtain. It was almost over. Soon she would be rid of hers and her father's problem, and she would be free to marry Van. She would smother the girl in her sleep, not a problem. The girl wouldn't even feel a thing.

She crept up to the bed, certain her task was almost complete.

She wasn't there.

"What?" she whispered in disbelief and desperation, and panic overcame her quiet composure. She spun around wildly, trying to search the room for the missing victim. She ran up and down the length of the room, searched under the bed, and even the closet but the girl was no where to be found.

At last she turned to the other door left in the godforsaken quiet room, leading to a place she couldn't think of in her panic, ran to the door and gingerly turned the knob with pale shaking fingers.

It didn't turn. 

_Crap!_

She only had a moment to curse, because something she heard made her blood freeze. Someone was coming to the room! She ran outside as she heard footsteps leading down the corridor outside of the room, didn't stop to look back at who it was. She had to get out. Find father.

_No. Don't tell him. Leave him to think what he likes. It doesn't matter to me now. I have to get out of here. Far away. Maybe Austuria... Yes, I'll go back home and wait for him there_. 

The reason in her mind spoke clearly that night, ebbing the hysteria away to a numb pain. However, something told her to wait it out.

_She has to show sometime. I can wait by her room to kill her, and in the morning I'll leave like no one's the wiser. It's okay. Don't panic._

So she waited in a nearby unfinished room a few doors away from Hitomi's room all night, but to no avail. She didn't turn up, and now Kellia had no time to escape. She would have to tell father.

_I'm sorry. I failed you. I'm so sorry…_

XX

What a horrible day. Nothing was going right.

Donte had TOO MUCH work today.

Gothel had been running him dry all month. Everyday he asked him to fill in for him on something, until it felt to Donte that he was doing Gothel's job for him. It was very aggravating to get up to the sound of Gothel's annoying voice. **"_I need you to see to the training of the new recruits, Donte._**_"_ or _"**The workers on the west side of town need an adviser to oversee the construction of a church."**_

Recently Gothel had become so scarce, that Donte only saw him in a few meetings, (always only the one's regarding foreign affairs) and following an increasingly disgruntled Van around.

Now the jerk had asked him to be a babysitter for his spoiled daughter. 

Naturally he couldn't pass up on this chance of allowing Gothel to use him as his laboring pet(horrible pun).

Without a doubt, Kellia Ferin was just like her darling father. She had to be the most offending person he had ever met. Rude, stuck up, overbearing and the disgust in her eyes whenever she spoke to him reminded him very easily of Gothel. The thought of both filled him with a dull rage. He was used to the look they gave him. He thought dully about how he had hoped he could avoid them, but alas, fate had other things in store for him. Plans of an annoying nature. She followed him everywhere, albeit reluctantly, making sure he suffered from her presence.

All day yesterday he was pestered by her, until around 7, when she mysteriously disappeared.

She had told him coldly that she was going to find a restroom, and hadn't bothered to tell him where. All that night he had searched for her. He even thought he saw her purple head later that night by the King's private wing, and followed her. He saw her go into a room not far from where he was and walked up to open the door, but she, or someone with a similar appearance ran out of the room like a bat out of hell. He tried to follow, but to no avail. The girl was gone, but one thing was sure; whatever that girl was doing, it had to be suspicious.

After searching futilely for an hour to find Kellia or the mysterious girl, he gave up for the night and went to his room to enjoy a restless sleep filled with dreams of Gothel confining him to a locked, used litter box and Kellia's empty face smiling down at his misery from above in a throne of black opal and withered leaves.

After waking late he hurried out of bed to a meeting of the advisers, where neither Gothel or Van attended. He consequently received his work for the day as well.

He was going to King Van directly for the explanation of his disappearing act yesterday and for Gothel's today, on order of the council.

He was having a bad week... No, the worst week of his life, and it seemed the Gods were laughing at him.

The only consolation had been the banquet. Seeing Merle that night, and dancing with her in his arms had to be one of the happiest moments of his life.

_Sure. I have tons of those. Such a great life._

He suddenly laughed, a little bitter and silent laugh, that only he could hear.

_Just great._

He walked toward Gothel's room, to begin another, long day.

XX

"Where is that girl?" Yukari spoke to the empty corridor around her, sure that only the empty walls could hear.

She had been looking for Hitomi all morning, and it seemed she would never find her. She searched almost everywhere she could think to find her.

At first she thought it was early so she was going to go to her room after breakfast to find her, but she decided against that when she stopped and spoke with Merle only minutes ago when she met her on the way out of the dining hall.

"She's probably off in the garden, or sightseeing in town by now," she had said. She obviously hasn't been here in a while, maybe she wanted to see the changes…Or…she's in Lor-" Yukari didn't listen, and walked quickly away.

Yukari at the time didn't want to seem rude, but she thought how odd Merle's thinking was. _I've never been here. I would have liked to have seen town too… _

She gave up the thought and decided to go to the one person who was sure to know where Hitomi was; Van. She headed toward the King's wing, positive that if he didn't know where Hitomi was, she would never know until she showed up again.

she met up with Spark just near the entrance to the hall, who was on patrol near the wing that morning.

After hearing what she was looking for, he offered to escort her to the wing himself, and she gladly excepted his company.

"I haven't seen Sir Van today either," Spark told her in passing as they walked the corridor toward Van's room. I heard he got back very late last night."

"I just hope I find Hitomi. She was looking for Van all day yesterday, I hope she found him..."

She paused, then said quietly again, "I hope I find her."

Yukari spoke truthfully, though running into Van would have made her just as happy, even if she didn't want to admit it to Spark.

Spark couldn't see the slight blush on Yukari's cheeks at that moment, just continued on blissfully forward a jump in his happy, quick step.

They reached the door about two minutes later.

There were about five soldiers stationed around the area of Van and Hitomi's room, and they stopped as they came up to them.

It was Spark who asked the question suddenly cropping up in Yukari's mind when they saw the entrance to the room.

"Why is there extra soldiers here?" He said, addressing the one nearest, a man wearing a red armor with a painted picture of a land dragon in green across his broad chest, his long dark hair covering a portion of his face.

"Under Lord Van's order." The man barked at Spark, not moving from his position a little ways away from Van's door. "We are under strict instructions not to allow anyone to enter or leave this or the adjoining room."

"Where is Lord Van?" Spark asked, with a serious expression, his soft smile gone, replaced by a a taught line of an emotion Yukari didn't see from behind him. She remained quiet, listening intently to what the man near her said next, but she was shaken by the abrupt change in Spark.

"That information is classified. I need identification to tell you anything." The man said, eying Spark suspiciously.

"I am Spark Thein, sergeant of the Second Fanel Laos division, under the former Third brigadier general of Fanalia." Spark responded, bowing slightly and hitting his chest with his fist. "This is Yukari Uchida, a companion of Lady Hitomi Kansaki.' He suddenly looked back, his chestnut eyes catching her dark ones. She got the hint and slightly curtsied.

For the first time, the man they were speaking with changed his emotionless expression. His face showed mild surprise, however briefly.

"Miss Hitomi is inside His majesty's room," he said, now speaking directly with Yukari, immediately ignoring the now inferior Spark, "I was told to tell you that you may see her, but you must be alone. Sir Thein must remain outside."

Rather than ask why Hitomi might be in Van's room at all, and honestly not wanting the answer, she stepped forward quickly and silently apologized to Spark.

She walked up to the door as it was opened by the guard and stepped into the room beyond, not knowing why her heart had suddenly decided to play a fast beat against her chest.

(I'm done! That's the end of the chapter, but obviously not the end of the suspense. What could happen next? On a more serious note, I have to apologize to all those that have been reading and hate the infrequent updates. I'm sorry! I know many must hate me now, but I have to find all the chapters I lost when I had to recently delete one of my hard drives, so it's sadly going to be slow updating. I'll write out new chapters if I have to to get up faster. I'll speed up, promise.

p.s. Anyone ever heard of the short lived t.v. Show created by Joss Wheldon in 2002 by the humble name of _Firefly_ ? Well, the movie of this greatly under unappreciated show _Serenity_ is out soon! I can't wait! I LOVE Malcolm Reynolds and his (Mostly) loyal crew. It really sucked when they took _Firefly_ off the air, but my brother bought the box set when it came out, so I'm a little happier. I hope after this movie a network will commission Whedon to make more episodes for the t.v. Show, or make another movie. Browncoats forever! And about it's cancellation from network t.v., I'll quote caption Mal about the loss,"May of been the loosing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one." Read more of what Van has in store for Gothel, what Gothel has in store for him, and what I have in store for them both. Read soon to find out, hopefully!)


	11. doors

(Hello again! I hope you all liked the last chapter! I know it's been a while since I updated, but a lot has happened. I enjoyed Halloween with my friends by trick or treating for the last time,followed the same night by watching the movie _Saw _. Four days later I went to chili's and had my "one crazy senior vandalism night" with my friends by going on the interstate and writing an infinity symbol on an unmarked speed limit sign (which you can't see because the sign was so tall and so big that even with five people stacked on one another's shoulders we could barely reach the black border at the bottom of the sign) took my SA T's the next day and turned eighteen the day after that (hence the slight change in my pen name), got my license the week after that(I know, it's pathetic to be eighteen before you get your driver's license, even though you have a car), have a birthday party two weeks later on the eighteenth because almost everyone one you know **_has_** to have their party the convenient weekend after, (and to get an excuse to have a hoard of people go with you to go see the new _Harry Potter_ movie... I know, I'm sad...) prepare for and celebrate the one day a year you can stuff your face with turkey legs and yams without shame, apply for college, get your letter jacket for band, (I should just give up my life for a new one under a rock by now huh?) buy presents for all your friends with no money, receiving a card from one person in return, (my friends are just **_sooooo_** generous!) play at church for midnight mass on Christmas and get ready for a new year's eve party for family which is ruined by my grandmother by falling and breaking her ankle as she left the bathroom, and spending the first hours of the new year waiting for your parents to get home from the emergency room, all the while searching desperately for the lost chapters of my fanfic as the time between updates grows from days to months.

But, I've finally given up on finding my old chapters, so I'll write them all over again. I hope you forgive the grammatical errors and enjoy!)

(P.s. I know. I'm long winded in my author's note but shamelessly short in my chapter. Please forgive me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own demented thoughts and characters coupled with borrowed characters from a great anime, expressed to the typed word. So that means I own almost nothing. Don't sue, and please review!)

"Donte! What's going on? Tell me why there are guards around Van's and Hitomi's rooms! Where are they!"

XX

Merle had woken early that day to get a fresh start on taking Hitomi around town, but decided to get something to eat instead, because Hitomi would no doubt be with Van, who could show her the sites without help.

After a very tasty meal of fresh fruits she was exiting the dining room, a new idea forming in her head to take Hitomi's friend around town instead; she was eager to get to know this girl whose attachment with Hitomi was so great that Hitomi couldn't go here without her.

_What's so great about her?_

Despite her happiness at Hitomi's return, she couldn't help feeling a little jealous of this new girl for her close relationship to Hitomi, who she considered almost a sister to her Now.

_If Van would just stop the shy crap..._

But her usual thoughts for her adoptive brother's happiness were interupted again by the new girl from the mystic moon

_Why did she bring her!_

She was forced out of her envious reverie when the girl suddenly appeared before her looking slightly worried and a little annoyed.

"Have you seen Hitomi? I haven't seen her all morning, and I'm worried."

Trying to push down the sudden urge to smile at the girl's misfortune, Merle told her she was probably gone, and the girl left looking very disappointed and put-out.

Merle walked on, the happiness she felt slowly leaving her as she walked, until the bounce of her light feet were gone, replaced by and uncharacteristic shuffle.

_Where is Hitomi? If her best friend doesn't know, who would?_

She decided going to look for her at her room would be first on a very short list of places Hitomi could be.

Her anxiety increased as she walked, hearing whispers all around her in the corridors of an increase of guards to the King's private wing because of a commotion by or in Lady Hitomi's chamber, and soon those where accompanied by whispered thoughts of the King running around secretly throughout the castle in search of the person who had caused it. Someone he trusted. It seemed a traitor was in their mist.

To compound that sudden uneasiness this gossip left in her mind was that, of all the people she heard from, none had seen or heard anything about what had happened to Hitomi.

She reached the corridor, and sure enough several guards were stationed both at the entrance to the corridor and spaced along the walls on each side, at least three stationed at the doors of Hitomi and Van's rooms. She walked deliberately toward Hitomi's door, not expecting the guard in front of it to block her way. She pushed lightly against his shoulder and thought she would feel him step back. She wasn't prepared for him to push her roughly in her own shoulder with his, taking her off balance.

"We aren't allowed to let anyone else in the room at this time," the guard who pushed her said coldly, his head turned downward to watch her fall almost entirely backward from the push. His dark face was shrouded by the shadow his helmet played on it. Merle immediately blanched, first in surprise, but soon turned to anger.

The great affliction felt by this manner-less exclamation and manhandling was so great that she could hardly stop herself from immediately abusing he man before her. In fact she had to literally stop herself from physically attacking him. She forced herself to be civil, regardless of all her natural feeling.

"And who is this 'one other' of whom you speak?" She asked, brushing her shoulder with her hand gazing back at the man with fire in her haughty blue eyes.

She should be be proud of herself. A few years ago she would have used that hand to scratch his brick face to see if it bled.

"Lady Yukari Uchida of the Mystic Moon, ma'am." He replied, his expression unchanging as he stepped directly in front of the door again and looked down at her through his helmet, his eyes hidden.

Despite his being at least two heads taller and three times as broad, her desire to do him bodily harm grew at these agitating words.

_Yukari!_

She took a step forward and raised her arm again, a single claw drawn to a point on the forefinger she pointed at his chest. "Tell me sir, what is your name?"

He did not answer, and he remained as still as a stone for a moment before answering.

"My name is meaningless, just as your standing here is. I have been given orders from his majesty himself to not allow anyone else inside, including you Lady Merle, and I can not be persuaded otherwise."

It was as if she had been struck in the face. All her composure had left her with her last remaining nerve as she stared at the impertinent man before her.

She took another step forward and yelled, "Tell me sir, just who you think you are? Am I, His majesty King Van Slanzar de Fanel's adoptive sister, sister to the man you have sworn allegiance, not allowed admittance to my friend Lady Hitomi Kansaki's bedchamber?"

She hated using proper grammar and the unfeeling sentiments of a rich noble, but she thought it would recall in this man that he was _her_ inferior, not the other way around.

It didn't help. If his countenance had changed, he portrayed nothing of it. He spoke slowly and deliberately, no emotion in his quiet voice, a sharp difference from her own, "I have not broken my vow to my king by not admitting you because, as I told you, I was ordered not to."

It was to much. She had to punch him then, if he wouldn't move. She stepped closer, making her outstretched hand into a fist as she went and was a mere inch from her barrier before another, independent, strong hand touched her shoulder.

More grabbed really, but who was interpreting?

She stopped and turned, fully prepared to punch whoever was brave enough to touch her in the face, and saw the overly bright eyes of Donte bore into her own. They seemed more yellow than green at this close range, as if two ignited midday suns above a lush meadow were staring at her instead of eyes.

She felt her arm lowering under his hand's pressure, and could feel her usually strong legs shake as if they could no longer hold her weight. She leaned her back unconsciously against his chest to regain balance.

"I'll tell you what's going on Merle." He whispered into her ear. His hand remained on her shoulder placed his other hand on her other shoulder and gently lead her away out of the corridor for another more private place to explain.

Her anger had left her. She felt numb disbelief at the guard's words and resentment and confusion towards Yukari. Van's favoritism for her over herself.

_It's as if,_ she thought bitterly, _I am left in front of a locked door, to which only Yukari has the key_. 


	12. Honor

(Hello! I'm back! I bet you thought I would never update again huh? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint! I know it's been forever and you hate me and all, but I have been really busy. I graduated since the last update and have been away on many trips. I won't bore you with the details but I finally updated. I only did honestly because I got a new review! Thanks. I guess people do care... I know this chapter can't make up for the long silence but I hope you like it! I'll try to shorten the time between updates to less than... how long has it been? Anyway, enjoy!)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some new characters, that aren't as good as the originals. Please don't sue.)

What a Beautiful dream! She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed a dream, but this one was so lovely, she couldn't help but blush at the thought.

She had crawled into Van's bed late at night, and asked him if she could stay. They had fallen asleep soon after she pulled the covers up, and she could feel his arms entwined around her middle, a pleasant warmth that spread the length of her body. They hadn't done anything, but the thought of his closeness had been a blessing.

She smiled deliriously and long, willing herself to stay in bed and her eyes to remain closed.

The warmth she felt in her sleep suddenly left her. She was alone. Alone in the darkness, cold unfeeling laughter filling her ears, surrounding her, coming from all directions, as if the darkness itself was laughing, the chill of sound penetrating to her core, and a voice, echoing in the blinding black fog, more frightening than the void...

**_I know what I have to do. As soon as they're out of the way, I can take this country. That whore dies, and everything will be on track again._**

Surely she must have screamed, but she could hear nothing except the voice and the laughter, feel nothing but piercing cold and her own suffocation in the blinding dark fog... She couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel Van's presence.

She was alone, and it was as if the voice and the darkness had wrapped itself around her, around her neck, choking her, blinding her...

A voice... above her? Calming, soothing, calling her name... A woman...

"Hitomi? Please... Wake up... You need to wake up..."

_A piercing at my side... A finger? Who is doing this?_

She opened her eyes.

She searched above her, willing herself to forget the ending of her dream, focusing her waking mind to the girl above her. A woman gazing into her face, her dark eyes and long hair shielding her face from some of the morning light.

"Yukari?"

At first she forgot the end of the dream and recalled it's beginning. She had been alone with Van in his bed. For a moment she felt blind panic at seeing her friend. Was she still in bed with him? No... She couldn't be, or Yukari wouldn't be here at all. She'd be comfortably still asleep, his presence felt beside her, but she could tell she was alone in the covers. Only Yukari was beside her, looking down on her with a slightly agitated and concerned countenance, asking if she was alright.

"I'm fine." Hitomi replied groggily, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"You were having a bad dream," Yukari was saying, placing her hand on Hitomi's head, pushing her frayed hair from the top of her forehead. Her hand was a pleasant warmth after the cold she had just felt. "You were thrashing... You wrapped the covers around yourself."

Normally Hitomi would have blushed at being discovered in the middle of a frightening dream, but instead she was happy that Yukari had woken her. She was certain if she hadn't, she might have been found later, and she had a morbid suspicion she would have choked or suffocated herself by then. The dream had felt so real, and she could feel the covers around her neck even now.

What was happening to her? _Was the dream so horribly real that my body was making it real by using the world around me?_ She tried to push the thought from her mind. She didn't know if she would be safe again in sleep. At least not with covers anyway.

_But what if I suffocate myself with my pillow? Or sleepwalk off the balcony? Or someone comes to kill me in my sleep... Or awake? Will I ever be safe again...?_

Then she remembered that she had been fine with Van with her. She hadn't imagined that. She had surely felt his strong arms around her, the warmth of his broad chest against her back, the dull pacing of his sleeping heart against her shoulder blades...

_That feeling wasn't a dream_. 

"Yukari," Hitomi spoke, a slight trimmer shaking not only her voice but her whole body in the process, "where is Van?"

Yukari expression flickered to surprise, viewing Hitomi with apprehension.

"I don't know."

Hitomi sat up in bed, magically untangling herself as she went. She shot out of bed a second later, and she felt thankful she was fully clothed

"I have to find Van."

She ran to the door before Yukari could stand, but was surprised when she couldn't turn the door knob.

She pounded on the door with her fist, yelling, "Hey! Let us out! I have to find Van!"

She heard no response. She kicked the door with her foot hard, forgetting that she didn't have shoes.

She cried out in pain as Yukari joined her, grabbing her shoulders as Hitomi crouched to hold her now throbbing foot.

"Are you alright in there, Misses? Do you require assistance?" A voice called from in front of the door that had offended Hitomi. "I need you to open the door and let us out!" Hitomi yelled from the floor, her anger coursing through her along with the pain in her foot.

"We cannot release you from this room under His Majesty's orders." The voice yelled again. "Not until His Majesty has located the fugitive."

"Just great."

Hitomi got up and limped back to the bed, smarting like her foot, but with anger instead of pain now.

She laid down and turned away from the door. She didn't bother with the murderous covers.

"What's going on?" Yukari asked her, joining her on the bed but not laying down.

Hitomi closed her eyes.

"Why are we stuck in here?" Yukari asked her closed eyes.

"To protect us. From him."

Hitomi could hear the confusion in her friend's voice as she replied, "Who? Is he this traitor they keep going on about?"

Hitomi ignored her. She could feel a headache coming on, and God help her, she was still tired.

Yukari shook her arm. "Tell me!"

"Grr... Yes! The traitor is why we're stuck in here! Stop shaking me! I can't help it, but this is my fault. I can't stand it! Leave me alone for a second damn it! Just leave me alone!"

Shocked into silence by Hiotmi's outburst, there was a thick stillness in the room, almost as suffocating as the covers were earlier.

Yukari got up. Hitomi heard the soft patter of feet leaving the side of the bed, and thought she must be trying to leave again, or at least get away from her.

_I'm pathetic. I'm so scared for Van, I'm not even thinking about Yukari... She must hate me for bringing her here._

"We'll just have to wait here until Van gets back," Hitomi said apologetically to Yukari's back.

After a short silence, Yukari asked, "Why does he need to protect us?"

Hitomi laid down onto her pillow. The ceiling was streaked with the morning light.

"He wants to kill us. I heard him last night.."

Yukari softly gasped at these words, but Hitomi didn't see her expression. She could hear a bird song somewhere outside in the sun.

"Is that why you aren't in your room now? You were here last night..."

Despite herself she could feel the uncomfortable heat of her blush.

"Yes."

Silence. The bird's call came closer.

"You... you just slept right?"

Hitomi grew exasperated. _Does she have to ask that question? Does she have to have her mind in the gutter?_

"Of Course Yukari! Do really have to ask that question!"

Hitomi laughed when Yukari turned and looked back at her with a "Do I?" Expression across her brow.

_Good old Yukari._

XX

"Father, I told you! I'm sorry. She was gone. I looked, but I couldn't find her! I-" she was cut off by the hand across her cheek. Instead of her eyes watering up, they remained impassive. She knew she deserved it.

"DO YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS HEADED! THERE IS ONLY AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE THEY DISCOVER THE TRUTH! My plans..."

Her father stepped away from her and lowered his hand.

There was silence for a moment. Kellia spoke up.

"I do not see how they could know it was us. I do not even believe that anyone knows anything happened last night. Father, let's not be rash. We still have time. She could have just slept in a different room, or left entirely. I do not see why we need to kill her if she is gone."

He did not respond. He had even turned away from her.

"This does not interfere with your plan as you believe."

He wasn't buying it. His back was still turned from her, but he responded calmly, as if he had never raised his voice in his life.

"Do not think you know me, child. I have more planned than you know. Do you think her death would be insignificant? Do you think I planned all of this after her arrival? It is not that easy. And, don't presume to know Lord Van and the girl from the mystic moon. Van is not an idiot, and Lady Hitomi is not blind. _She_ has the power to see the unseen. _He_ has great power. _Together_ they could crush us both. They are only gullible. That is why I called you here. You could have blinded him by killing her, but you couldn't do that. You think they don't suspect? Don't be a fool!"

He had grabbed her arm as he yelled the last line, catching her in a familiar hold. The area had long since learned to block the pain.

"You mean you know more than me, father? What is it?"

His grip tightened.

"Can you not hear the sounds around the castle? The guards move like cattle! And it is long past the time for advisory, and no one has come to call on me. IT IS OBVIOUS WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN! ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDN"T DO AS YOU WERE TOLD!"

His other hand had balled into a fist and she could numbly feel the sting of it on her other arm. She did not recoil.

"WHO SAW YOU!"

"It was-"

Again she was cut off by the sound of beating against the door.

Her father released her as soon as they heard the sound of someone yelling at the door, "GOTHEL! TRAITOR! COME AND FACE YOUR FATE! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES WITH MY SWORD!"

"Van..." For just the second time in Kellia's life, she saw fear flash in her father's cold eyes.

Why did she feel pity?

They were silent. The room lay still for a moment before the crashing sounds against the door began again. Her father recoiled.

"Father."

He had turned from her.

"Leave Father. I will stay. They cannot kill what they cannot find."

He turned back to her. Another emotion she could not discern had crossed his face. His eyes seemed less cold.

"Thank you."

He stepped away behind her to crouch on the floor by his bed. She didn't see him as he slipped through the trap and disappeared, but she did her duty and covered the place with the rug when he was gone. She walked back to the middle of the room as she heard the door leading to the corridor resigning itself to destruction. Her face remained impassive.

The King had already stepped inside. He did a once over with his eyes of the room while a sea of guards flowed beyond the gap where the door had been inside.

"Where is he?" He yelled at her.

_Why lie?_

"He is gone."

"Where?"

"It would be against my honor as his daughter to tell you."

"Honor to that man means nothing! There is no honor for a traitor."

"That is why I cannot tell you."

Silence filled the room. Lord Van eyed her with disdain, but for a moment he was quiet.

"I see you have more sense of honor than your father, but that doesn't guarantee you will not suffer a similar fate as him. You have been charged with conspiracy to kill a member of the royal family and a noble."

He had come to her and caught her arm in the same spot her father had, but his grip wasn't tight.

"You will go with the guards to the dungeon. Maybe a few days there will make you talk."

He handed her off to one of them and lead the way from the room as a few guards remained behind to search her father's room.

(AND THAT'S THE END OF THAT CHAPTER! I hope you liked it. I got a tickle writing it. I hope I update soon so y'all can find out what happens next! Review and I'll update. That's the power of the review, people. "You have the power!")


	13. A pain like a dagger

(I'm back! I want to thank all of you that reviewed! Darkia, thanks for pointing out the mistakes! I need to edit my stories better... I would be really annoyed if I was reading a story filled with errors. Thanks for the pointers; I really needed the help. I didn't even notice that I was spelling Amano's name wrong. I'm sorry. The thing about Yukari coming with Hitomi will be explained in a later chapter, so please be patient because all will be revealed! To everyone, thanks for the other reviews! I updated thanks to you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own perverted thoughts. As you can tell, that ain't much.)

"Why didn't you tell me Van!"

Van, Merle, Yukari, Hitomi and Allen were all gathered in Van's advisory room. He had gathered them all to tell Allen and Merle what he and Hitomi had uncovered. Yukari seemed to already know most of the situation. Donte was outside in the hall with Spark and a small force of guards from the Second Fanel Laos division to block the meeting from prying eyes.

"I could have helped to capture the girl's father! He might not have gotten away if you hadn't rashly chased him away!"

_Was Allen always this annoying?_ No. In the war he was much more composed. Something was up with him, but Van didn't have time to think about Allen's problems now. He had the problem of finding Gothel on his hands, not to mention the strained relationship with Basram and the constant threat of Diaz on his mind. _Do I never just get some time off?_

"I had to act quickly because I know he wants to kill Hitomi. Gothel may be a traitor, but he isn't stupid. He must have known something was wrong last night or he wouldn't have escaped so fast. I was trying to catch him before he slipped away! You forget who you speak to Allen, if you question my judgment. Last I checked, I am in command here, not you."

"Why are you so threatened by help, Van? I came because I know you needed it."

"I didn't ask for it!"

How could he? He had reached for help in the war, leaned too heavily on the aid of Allen and the others, and it had only led to pain. Everyone in this room had suffered from his weakness, his need for a hand in his battles and against his enemies. He was tired of leaning on them. If he was going to be any kind of leader, he had to stand alone sometimes to protect the ones he cared for the most.

Hitomi spoke up.

"We need to stop this fighting amongst ourselves. What we need to do is find Gothel before he reaches an informant for the empire."

For a moment all were silent. Merle was first to speak again.

"We have his daughter, don't we? Maybe she has information we can use to find him. She was found in his room this morning, right?"

Allen squashed her idea quickly.

"All the evidence shows she was the one who helped him escape, so it's very possible that he had called her here to Fanelia from Austuria just to use as a decoy to throw us off track. There is also no concrete evidence to prove that he's even the informant to Zaibach."

Hitomi spoke again. "Then how about sending a search party? I'm sure someone could find him. Or... Or maybe there's some connection between him and who the informant is. Why isn't there anything more productive we can do than sit here, talking? It's clear that we have to find Gothel and find the informant to the empire!"

"But what about the problem of Basram and the Alliance? Surely you know that if you and your friend stay here it will only be so they can use you as a tool. What if there is a connection to why so many pleaded to Van to get you? It doesn't make sense. Many of the Alliance were less than willing to get your help in the war. Why did they feel your presence would be necessary? I think there has to be a connection.

_That's a valid point. Why does the Alliance want Hitomi so badly? Do they think that just because she came that she'll be a willing tool for them to use at their disposal!_ He couldn't let that happen.

His thoughts were interrupted by Allen again.

"Basram pulling out of the Alliance is another mystery. They were our allies in the Gaea War, and in the war it was easily the most powerful in terms of their energist bomb, but it's weakness was its small force of ground troops that could otherwise not play a vital role for Diaz's plan."

Merle cut in again.

"Zaibach may already know how to make the bomb. Perhaps they need something else from Basram. They have always rivaled Zaibach in technological advances. Perhaps Diaz needs Basram to complete his machine."

Another silence followed this. Van spoke up.

"I think that two things are clear. We still have to send someone to Basram to try to re-establish relations between the Alliance and them. The other point is that Hitomi and Yukari aren't safe on Gaea."

Hitomi's evergreen eyes met his. _How could the sadness in them shine as bright as though she stood facing a blazing sun?_

"If you suggest that I leave, you can't force me."

"Hitomi-"

"You can't!"

"I don't want to see you die again!"

He knew he was being an ass, but he couldn't help it. He had already gotten up. It was all too easy to grab her arm and drag her from the room.

"Stop it Van! I don't want to leave!"

He could feel her hitting his arm as he led her out the doors of the COM room and past the guards outside. He could hear Donte and Spark ask what was going on. He could hear Allen and the others follow them.

He turned his head back to yell at Allen, "Go to Asrum, Allen! Get Dryden to accompany you and try to find out the real reason for their change of heart!"

He saw out of the corner of his eye Yukari, who had remained a silent spectator of the the conversation in the COM room and the drama unfolding outside it. She was matching pace with him and her friend, who continued to fight him as he pulled her down the hall and toward the Entrance hall and the doors leading outside.

_Hopefully they can forgive me... Hopefully Hitomi can forgive me. Gods know I just want to protect her..._

As soon as he felt the gust of wind hit his face as he stepped outside, he could feel the pendant against his chest grow hot.

_I just want to protect you Hitomi. Even if it means I can never see you again_. 

Why did the warm pendant on his chest feel like a dagger point just about to break the skin above his rapidly beating heart?

(And I'm done! I hoped you liked this chapter! I got it up really fast, didn't I? I'm sorry it's short though. Something very important was supposed to happen in the chapter, but I decided to postpone it until another one. Sorry! I just want to build suspense. Is it working? I just loved how many people reviewed last chapter so I got my new one up as quick as I could. I hoped you enjoyed it. R&r please, because maybe then I'll update! Love ya!)


	14. Was it all just a dream?

(I'm back! Sorry folks, but this chapter is a short one. Very Short. Don't worry though, because I'm updating soon, because This chapter and the next are pivotal to the story. On a different note, one reason for the long delay in updating is school related, as well as a sudden need to begin another fanfic. If anyone is interested, it's about Dudley from the _Harry Potter_ series. It isn't some gross slash between Harry and him or anything, just a little interpretation of his thoughts on... a lot of things that involve Harry and the rest of his family. So, if anyone can at least stand my writing, or just love _Harry Potter_ , please read and review. Now I'm done with the shameless plug, please enjoy this chapter of No Faith in Destiny. Read and Review, I love to hear from ya. )

(Disclaimer: All I own in this fic is my own demented thoughts and original characters. All Escaflowne characters are copyrighted by Shoji Kawamori, the lucky devil. Please don't sue.)

XX

"Why are you doing this?"

She couldn't believe this was happening. She could feel Van's strong grip on her arm and him pulling her along behind him. She couldn't see his face. _Why is he doing this? He can't be making me leave after this... after we finally..._

"Stop it Van!"

The gush of wind against her face as she was pulled outside felt like a slap against her skin.

"Yukari! Tell him to stop! Help me!"

_Why is she just following us? Why isn't she helping me? SHE'S JUST BEING QUIET!_

She would have glared at the cowardly silent Yukari at her side, if she could see her, but Van's grip on her arm was too great. She did all she could do at an uncontrollable Van moment. Scream.

"Why are you doing this Van? I thought you wanted me to come! Why would you have come for me if you didn't want me here?! This better not be some stupid noble crap because you've already tried it!" She clawed fruitlessly at Van's strong grip, fighting the angry tears that were threating to spill from her eyes.

"I don't want to leave!" I don't want to leave... Please don't make me leave..."

The sting of tears burned her hot cheeks as it fell from her eyes. She cursed herself for giving in to the temptation, but as always, the tears did nothing to alleviate her grief, that at that moment seemed to swell to the boiling point inside her.

Van was silent. Yukari was silent. All she could hear was the gush of wind, and feel the pressure of her heart tap a rapid tattoo against her chest. _It hurts even more than the last time..._

Suddenly, she felt her body being drenched in a warm light, and Van turned around, so she could see his face. He released her arm.

The inexplicable sadness etched across his face seemed to illuminate even from within the bluish light, a sorrow so profound that she felt as if her heart was being cleaved in two. His unblinking dark eyes met hers. The intensity of the moment seemed to temporarily stop time, and she thought in that instant that she could never leave him. _I don't want to leave you here all alone. I don't want you to be alone... I don't want to be alone anymore.._. 

She felt her body lift from the ground, but she still felt compelled to stare into Van's eyes, her own sprinkling tears onto his face.

"I don't want to leave you!" She reached out her hand to him. He hesitated. "Please don't leave me!" She closed her eyes, her hand still outstretched. _Please don't leave me.._. 

Was it a second or a minute? However long, the warmth around her body contrasted the coolness of her hand, waiting for the touch of her love.

His warm hand entwined with hers, but she knew she was still rising.

Was it a dream? Or a vision? _No. I know this is real._

She was leaving Gaea. He was coming with her.

(That's the end of that chapter! Ya know, now I think about it, the more I wonder why I didn't combine chapters 13-15... Oh well. Adds suspense. Or reader rage. MORE DEADLY THAN ROAD RAGE!!!!!!!!!

Hope you all review!)


	15. No It was real

(Hey... I know it's been like, forever, but oops! Don't hate me please! I know I left on a really bad spot, and said I'd end the suspense soon, but things got a little... busy. SORRY. I'm just finishing up my first year at college and other things distracted me( _Harry Potter_ ). It's a stupid excuse, especially since I haven't updated since December, but it's all I have. Again, SORRY. I hope all of you fans can still tolerate me and my sorry little fanfic. For anyone who wants to know, I think I might rewrite some of the earlier chapters, especially the second, because looking at it now... I'm sorry for my laziness.

P.S. I'm 19 now, hence the change in name. 20 in November!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the creations of my own demented thoughts. Don't sue, please.)

XX

They were gone.

Standing in the grass outside the castle, Yukari could only stare at the spot where Van and Hitomi were lifted into the air a second ago. She couldn't even feel terror at the fact that she was left alone on a strange planet on the brink of war. All she could feel was shock. They were gone. She was left behind.

She could hear the sounds of people running behind her. What could she say to them? Would they accuse her of forcing them to leave? Would they be angry that a useless third wheel had been left behind?

The person closest to her was talking. She didn't look.

"What happened? Where are they?!" It was Merle. She felt her hand on her arm. The grip was tight and she sounded scared. Either scared for Hitomi or for Van, Yukari didn't know.

"Did BOTH of the them leave?"

All she could do was nod.

"Crap! Now what do we do? Who is going to go to go to Basram?!" " It was the cat Donte who spoke now. He must have followed them outside. He sounded more agitated than scared.

"Who is going to interrogate the prisoner? The man she met the other night was talking now... _What was his name? Allen._ Unwittingly, she felt strongly reminded of Amano. Why she thought it now she couldn't focus on at the moment.

"Why is Van gone?"

They all looked upward. If Yukari was thinking at all, she would have thought it strange that they all looked very upset that Van was gone but didn't seem to care that Hitomi was gone too, not to mention the fact that _she_ was still standing here.

"What happened?" Spark had arrived. Yukari could hear the rumbling of the men that had followed Spark outside. They didn't sound happy.

She felt a strange pull in Spark's direction but ignored it. She didn't have time to dwell on their budding relationship. She could only acknowledge her shock at being left behind. _And relief._

"What happened Yukari?" At least someone had noticed her standing there. It was Merle again.

"They're gone. Both of them. Gone home."

There was an appalled silence that followed these words.

Allen spoke first. "Why did Van leave with her?"

Yukari turned to him. In light of the outside she couldn't help thinking again how much he looked like Amano. _Was it the eyes? The face? The voice?_ Or was it the illusion of the overall feelings he reminded her of? The feeling passed. She didn't even know this man.

He repeated his question. "Why did Van leave?"

Why did it make her want to cry, this question that had been nagging at her for the last moments after Van and Hitomi were lifted skyward? _Why did they leave, while I'm here alone? Why do I feel relief, when I should be feeling scared? _

Looking into the face of the stranger before her, the stranger whose profile seemed etched into her memory, she knew.

She didn't want to go back. Not when all she could feel when she thought of the that place was pain. Pain inflicted by a man she loved. It was then, when Van reached for Hitomi's outstretched hand, that she knew she had had that kind of love. t_hought_ she had it, but not anymore. Now she was totally alone.

She could feel the tears welling up inside her. The answer to all their questions was so obvious! _Can't they see why he went with her?_ She answered slowly, as if saying it so would help the gathered crowd understand it better.

" _He_ wanted to be with her. _She_ needed him to be with her. They're together because they wanted to be."

She didn't care if she saw their anger. She didn't care if her words had stung. They didn't understand. She couldn't even explain it to them even if she wanted to. She couldn't explain why she knew herself.

She had felt the need from them both. Not just by seeing the pain on Van's face as the light illuminated them. Not just from hearing the pleading call from Hitomi when she begged Van to not let her be alone again.

she could _feel_ it.

She knew then she could never have anyone feel that way for her. It was as if the light from above had swept away all her gullible fantasies and left only the darkness of oblivion in its wake.

She began to cry as the men around her asked their fruitless questions and Merle became a silent spectator at her side.

The feeling of panic slowly began to envelop her. She couldn't know it wasn't her own, because she suddenly thought something. _They were together. I am alone. I always will be_. 

Did she really want to be with a couple so dependent on each other that they would cross space to be together? No. That would only depress her more. She would rather be stuck on this war torn land. It could remind her that her problems weren't that big in comparison.

It was a relief.

XX

Van looked up. The sky seemed gray with a strange yellow tinge. Unnatural. There was strange noises surrounding him. Strange whistles, dogs barking, the sounds of a large city that never sleeps. He looked around. Hitomi was beside him. He still had his hand entwined with hers. She looked apprehensive, but there was a wane smile playing her lips. Almost apologetic.

It seemed stupid to ask, "Where are we?" He just couldn't help it.

"We're by Kitakamakura station, in Kamakura, Japan."

Van drew a blank.

What little smile Hitomi had on her face left it. She gripped his hand tightly. "We're on the mystic moon."

Van looked around, releasing Hitomi's hand.

They were on a deserted street by what appeared to be a platform of some kind, with tracks leading to an unknown location. They were bathed in a strange orange glow that seemed to come from above, but when he looked up he saw the light came from orbs on long metal posts; these made him think of the candle and oil lamps of home, but he could not see the flame from here. The strange lights dulled the sky, blocking all but the brightest stars.

He scanned the heavens, searching for what he knew couldn't be there if he was where she said they were. He recoiled when he spotted the moon, a crescent of light that seemed to mock him like a malicious grin across the void above. There was no companion to the smile.

He looked back to Hitomi.

"Why are we here?"

She shook her head. For some reason it incensed him.

"How can you not know? I tried to send you back, and now we're both here, on the Mystic moon, near a place you must know, and I'm supposed to believe you don't know how we got here?"

Hitomi took a step back. Her face was half covered in shadow now. He couldn't see her expression. This didn't help his mood.

"Why am _I_ here? Only you were supposed to come here."

Hitomi remained silent. Van took this as a sign to continue his pondering aloud.

"I brought you outside... you were asking me not to send you away..." He started pacing. "I felt the pendant burn..." He remembered the pain of it against his chest. It felt as if it seared his skin.

He stopped pacing but didn't look at Hitomi. He looked at his feet. "It was you... You made me come."

He looked up at her shadowed face. She was still silent.

She didn't understand. He had responsibilities to his home and people. To his world. He had to send her to hers. They couldn't be together. Why didn't she understand that? Why did she want to prolong this torture? This need that they shared that couldn't be consummated; that had to end before it began?

"WHY DID YOU MAKE ME COME HERE?!"

She strode forward suddenly, not stopping until she was at eye level with him and they were only inches apart. He saw the tears threatening to spill from her evergreen eyes onto her light eyelashes. He also saw the steely determination etched across her brow. He felt his anger ebbing.

She slapped him hard across his face, in the same spot she had struck on the very first night they had met so long ago. His face whipped to one side.

Before he had time to recover, she turned around and walked purposely away toward the platform.

He touched his stinging face, shocked by what she had done. How could she be mad at him? It was he who should be mad! She had dragged him away from his home on the brink of a new war, the leader of a newly rebuilt kingdom that could fall at any moment, and _she_ was mad at _him_ ?

He hesitated, his hand still against his throbbing cheek, thinking. _I still have the pendant, I could just wish to go home again_. Another voice chimed in, soft but distinct. _Do you really want to? Do you really want to go home?_ _Yes! Of course I do! I have to go, to protect her... to protect my country!_

The other voice spoke again, _Do you really want to protect her, or protect your own feelings?_

_I want to save her! I want to save her from all the suffering that I caused her... from the suffering that she will endure if she stays with me on Gaea!_

The second voice answered quietly, _Does she still suffer?_

He thought of the face that had been across from him moments ago, staring into his.

The second voice said its last; _You're not on Gaea. Do you want to see her suffer here as well?_

No.

He ran after her, running across the deserted street to the platform ahead, stepping beside her silent figure as he heard the rumble of something moving up the track toward them.

I_'ll just have to stay here until I figure out a way home,_ he told himself, knowing full well how he could get back to Gaea.

He grabbed her hand.

_It wasn't her that made me come here_. 

She looked away, but not before he saw the tear stains on her face. She didn't reclaim her hand.

_It was me._

XX

(Well, that's the end of that chapter! I hope you all liked it, and again, I'm very sorry you guys had to wait sooooooooo long between updates.

If anyone wants to know, I got the name of the station from an online map of Kamakura, Japan, the name of the town that I think Hitomi is from in the series(I got that info from the Escaflowne Compendium). It's a town to the south of Tokyo.

If I am incorrect about anything, please review. I always love to hear what you all have to say, and I would appreciate any help. A special thank you to lucybye, who reviewed last. I haven't seen a new review in a while and it was yours that finally got me around to putting up this new chapter. Thank you to all who read this; I know it can be annoying to have a fanfic writer go for months without updating. It sucks. SORRY. No flames please.)


	16. a hamburg and Kodona

(Hey guys! I'm sure that by now no one is reading this little fanfic...but I hope that this new chapter can appease you. I'll just get right into the thick of it without lame excuses for my loooooong silence. Hope you enjoy, and please review. I love hearing from you. Oh, and as to the question from aunie.black about what flames are, it is when a person insults a person or his/her works without any real redeeming value. When someone says 'no flames' I guess you could say it's like saying, "only constructive criticism" or "Only fawning praise"... but I kid.

All I own is the demented thoughts of my own head and a few OC's. _Escaflowne_ and all of the original characters from the show are owned by Shoji Kawamori and his team. Dang it.)

XX

Hitomi could remember a day when she asked the cards if she would find true love. It had been a childish game then, a question asked by a fickle hearted young girl who couldn't see past her own cares. It seemed so long ago. Love to her was something tangible, explainable. Something she could feel if only she pulled the right card. The right fate. The best Destiny.

When did it all change?

She felt his hand slip into hers as she heard the rail car grind down to the platform. It felt warm. She swiped at her face with her free hand before the doors opened, averting her eyes from him.

_Why just this? It's just his hand and yet I feel...so..._

The doors opened and a steady stream of people poured out. Hitomi felt Van's grip on her hand tighten as she instinctively moved away. She could sense how tense he'd become.

As the tide ebbed, Hitomi stepped inside, half pulling Van in her wake to get on the car. Thankfully there wasn't many people in this one. Only a girl who looked about 13 and a small group of gothes chatting at the back of the car. She grabbed the hand strap above her head before the train started moving again. It was then she hazarded a look at Van.

He looked petrified.

His hand had somehow become slightly slick in the passage from the platform, and his face was grim. His entire body looked poised to spring the second Hitomi stopped moving. He was staring past her, toward the group in back.

She tried not to laugh as she said, "grab the strap, Van. We're about to move."

The moment he raised his free hand, Hitomi felt the lurch of the train leaving the platform. Van stumbled slightly before clutching the hand grip above him, surprised. She watched for a second as he regained his balance.

"Where are we going?" He asked when he had regained control over himself.

"Um..."

She hadn't thought about that. Her body had just acted on it's own, preforming it's regular actions at the end of the day, set in a routine from the first day she went to high school. At the end of the day, you go home.

"We're going to my house. We'll have to wait until morning to see what we're going to do next."

"Where will I stay? Do you have rooms to accommodate me?" Van said, his grim expression more comical as his raised arm came dangerously close to hitting his face as the train swayed and rocked.

"Nothing like you're used to."

They grew silent as the train moved on. Hitomi started to think as Van turned back to watch the gothes again.

_What do I do now?_ How would her parents feel about her showing up with a guy with no place to stay? She wasn't even sure what day this was. Would they even remember her leaving this time? They didn't seem to remember her leaving the first time, but when she left with Van again and came back for what she thought was the last time, they had remembered.

_She_ remembered her family's reaction to her returning home that day. Her mother had cried. Her father had laughed through his tears. Her brother had looked away and said, "What took you so long?"

She couldn't help laughing out loud at Hitsarugi's face when he said that. Defiant. Relieved.

"What?" Van said, redirecting his attention to Hitomi again. She was saved her reply when the train slowed to a stop at the next platform.

The girl quickly moved off the train, not even glancing at them as she exited. The Goth group from the back of the car moved forward to get off the train. They glanced at Hitomi as they got off, and the last boy, who looked like he was dressed in Kodona style lolita, glanced at Van as he exited the train. He couldn't hide his surprise when he saw Van's outfit and what he had at his side. The boy's eyes lingered on the sword too long. Van barked, "What are you doing?"

The boy jumped and tried to get off the train but the doors had closed right in front of him. He was now stuck between an angry Van and no exit. The train lurched into motion and the boy fell awkwardly toward Hitomi. She had to release her hold on Van's hand and instinctively grab the boy before he hit the guard rail in front of him. She asked, "Are you okay?"

Van forgot his unbalance as he grabbed the boy's arm to pull him away from Hitomi but thanks to Hitomi's other arm on his sleeve he was saved from falling again.

"What's your problem?!" The boy mumbled as he fought against their grips. "What are you doing, not getting off the...ship before the doors closed?" Van replied forcefully, glaring at the Kodona boy. "What's with you, calling a train a ship? What are you, foreign?" The boy managed to rip from Hitomi's grasp and now struggled against only Van. Hitomi felt a wave of panic at the boy's words. The fact that the boy could even understand Van was mystery she didn't want to solve at the moment, but what if he continued to provoke Van?

What if Van did something rash? He was already upset. Hitomi knew from past experiences what happened when Van was upset. She had to think fast.

"Yes he is," she said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, as if to calm his struggles, "and he'll let you go if you calm down." The boy didn't seem to get the message.

"Get off me!" the boy cried, shrugging the hand off his shoulder and fighting harder for release. "Calm down boy!" Van shouted, suddenly releasing his grip on the boy's arm. The Kodona boy fell forward, but managed to grip the rail in front of him to stop from hitting his head on it. "What's your deal?" He replied harshly as he stood up again, still gripping the rail.

"What we you doing, looking at my sword?" Van answered, not bothered by the boy's tone or the rocking of the train. The boy answered quickly,"what are you doing having one?" turning a deviant face to the angry Van. "What I carry is my concern and no one else's. You have no right attacking me for what I carry, boy, and no right touching Hitomi."

The boy moved away, past the length of the guard rail and Hitomi. "What the hell are you talking about? You attacked me! All I was trying to do was get off the train and you and her attacked me! Thanks to you I missed my stop!" "If you hadn't been staring at me you wouldn't have missed it!"

Hitomi could see that Van's patience was wearing thin but she had no idea how to calm down the source of the problem; the defiant Kodona boy that couldn't see the danger he was in. All she could think of was to try to get out of the situation. "Let's move over here," she said to Van, "to get out of the way of traffic." She put her hand on Van's tense arm and tugged him toward a seat.

The boy glared at Van warily as he backed away to the end of the train. There was a tense silence surrounding them as the train went along. Hitomi didn't remove her hand from Van's arm until the train slowed to a stop at the next platform. She was thankful that the boy seemed to want to get off at the stop. He moved past them with his eyes averted from Hitomi's gaze, but she heard him mumble "freak" as he walked past Van to get off. Thankfully Van didn't respond, but she felt rather than saw Van put a hand on the sword hilt at his side.

The doors closed soon after the boy left, no fellow passengers entered after him. Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she would never see the boy again.

"This place is filled with rude people," Van growled as the train rumbled on. "They dress appallingly to match."

Hitomi hazarded a smile that she turned to Van. "Not everyone is like that. You just scared him, that's all." She paused, picturing the boy again, who was dressed in a dark suit jacket with red ribbon tied around his neck and matching knee length red shorts connected to chains on his sides. She laughed.

"I can say I agree with the other statement though." She felt Van's arm loosen under her hand as he smiled slowly down at her. 

"Was it like this for you too, Hitomi?"

"You have no idea."

They were quiet again until the next stop. Hitomi got up with Van and they stepped off the train into the gathering nighttime, and she led him to the steps leading up away from the platform. She watched Van look up to the dusk sky, a wistful, strange look on his face. Almost sad. She led him up the stairs.

XX

It had been only a day. He had seen her leave and was worrying about her all the next day. His mother didn't worry. His father didn't know. He had to tell them something. They had both believed she was staying over at Yukari's last night and had gone straight to school today. But what was he supposed to say now?

As he watched the sun sink below the house line, Hitsarugi breathed a sigh. The air was growing cool, and a small wind picked up, rustling his brownish hair. He tried to fight a since of apprehension. He felt as if things were about to change. He hoped it would be for the better.

He stood up from the chair by the window in Hitomi's room and stretched. He knew that Hitomi would never allow him to sit in here when she was home, but he found it... oddly soothing to sit here and watch the sun set when she wasn't here. He couldn't place his desire to do it; he never did it when he was sure Hitomi was coming home. But sometimes...

"Hitsarugi!"

He jumped. His father was calling him. "Coming dad!"

He ran out of Hitomi's room onto the landing and down the stairs. "What is it?"

His father was waiting at the foot of the stairs. "Go help your mother in the kitchen. We want the dinner on the table before Hitomi gets home. I expect that she'll be home soon. Set an extra place, because Yukari will probably be with her." Normally Hitsarugi would have rolled his eyes at the remarks of his father, but instead he grunted noncommittally and walked past the living room into the kitchen, where his mother was making hamburg steak with white rice and onions. She gestured to the table and didn't stop patting out the hamburger meat. Hitsarugi saw the plates stacked on the table and turned to get the forks and knives from the drawer to his mother's right.

"How was your day, mom?" he asked as he walked away with the cutlery in his hand. "Tiring. Yours?" "The same." He set the silverware down and started setting the plates.

There was a silence. Hitsarugi heard his father laugh in the other room, the television blaring something incomprehensible at full volume.

He didn't look up to his mother, but he couldn't help asking, "Does dad know?" He almost whispered it despite the noise in the other room.

His mother set the last of the patties down and started cutting onions while the oil heated up. "About what?"

Hitsarugi almost dropped the plate he was holding. "About Hitomi! Aren't we going to tell him she isn't coming home?" His mother scolded him for almost dropping the plate and went back to cutting the onions and breading them. "She'll be home today," she said when she turned her back.

"How can you be so sure?" He hadn't felt this frustrated before. The fact that she was gone, that she had left willingly and had made no mention of a return worried him. He couldn't understand his father ignorance and his mother denial in the truth.

She was gone. Just like before. Like before, he seemed to be the only one who remembered it.

Hitomi had left for a period of 3 weeks a few years ago, and when she had returned, her explanation for her disappearance had been told to their father and mother, but not to him. It was as if no one cared that he was left in the dark. He remembered his mother telling him, when he asked her why Hitomi was almost always carrying her duffel bag around with her, "you'll understand when your older." He had thought it was typical parent explanation for questions they felt uncomfortable answering. He was 15 now. He wanted answers. He didn't want to be in the dark anymore. "What are not telling me?" He set the last of the silverware.

His mother placed the breaded onions in the hot oil and put the first patty on top. "I just have a feeling."

This time Hitsarugi couldn't hold back the eye roll. "A feeling."

_I don't trust my own._

He turned back toward the living room. "I'll call when I get _feeling_ to eat." He was almost past the front door toward the stairs when he heard the soft click of the door unlocking. He turned toward it with stunned eyes.

_Hitomi!_

(That's the end of that chapter. I hope you guys liked it, and please review. I do read all of them and really appreciate the feedback. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up soon. I ended it in a really good spot for everyone, and maybe I'll show you guys what Yukari and the gang are up to on Gaea. Never know unless you read!)


	17. a piece of completion

(I take it back. I want to continue what's happening with Van and Hitomi, so on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Escaflowne_ or any original characters from the show. I only own my own sad thoughts and O.C.'s. Please don't sue.)

XX

Hitomi led Van to a small house at the end of a row of small homes on a quiet street about a two blocks from the station. If he had been thinking at all, he would have marveled at the number of homes and shops he had passed getting here. It was as if he was in a sea of populace that he couldn't have imagined existed. He had been blown away at the size of Austuria's capital when he went there for the first time as a boy, and was frightened by it. Here made that busy sea port seem a largish village, and Fanelia's capital a country backwater.

Sadly, Van didn't have the luxury of a clear thought.

He had been milling over in his mind all of the duties he had left behind and the failure he had been as a leader to them. He had abandoned everything he cared for because of a selfish impulse. He felt ashamed of the fact that he didn't seem...depressed by the thought.

He had other things to worry about at the moment.

Hitomi pulled a small key from her pocket and turned the lock in the door. She didn't open it though. She turned to look at him. "I want to talk to them, okay? You just-" she was cut off by the door opening of it's own accord, pulling Hitomi slightly inside because of her hold on the key.

A boy of light features and youngish build had opened the door. Van was struck with the impression of slightly shaggy dark blond hair and the glint of hazel eyes as the boy stared mutely at Van's face behind Hitomi's flailing form. His expression was brief but telling. Surprise and suspicion. It was quickly gone, replaced with a slightly bored, carefree expression that Van could tell was strategically placed until a time when he could inquire after the visitor. "You're late, Hitomi. Mom was just making dinner." He stepped back and turned to allow Hitomi and Van passage inside. He closed the door behind them. "Dad's in the living room." He moved away toward the next room, making a pointed glance at Van before he turned away. "I thought you were bringing Yukari home with you." He walked away.

Van had been completely silent watching the boy's retreating back, reserving judgment on the boy. He supposed it was Hitomi's younger brother. Hitomi confirmed his suspicions, "My kid brother, Hitsarugi. Don't mind him." She made to move away from the door and past the larger room inside to another down the hall.

_I will mind._

Whatever Hitomi said of her brother, he suspected it stemmed from a relationship steeped in familiarity that bread blindness. Van could tell from the first moment that her brother had an intelligence submerged behind the facade of youthful carelessness. His eyes had a spark of fire behind their depths that he had seen only in Hitomi before. He would wait to have a final opinion of him, but he suspected he would like him. His manner reminded him of Dryden.

"I'll introduce you to my mother first."

He was jolted away from his thoughts and plunged into a slight panic. _What? Parents?_

He had no problem meeting with leaders of States and dignitaries from Principalities and Dukedoms, but the trial of parents was a test for which he hadn't prepared. He felt slightly bereft as he followed Hitomi into a fragrant room he supposed was the kitchen. A woman of slight build was standing with her back to the doorway as they entered. She had a loose knot of light brown hair at the back of her head, reflected blond in the harsh light of the everlasting fire. He gulped.

_Bring yourself together! I'm not some simpleton. Act with the difference Hitomi's mother deserves._

"Mom."

The woman turned, and before she could reply or show any emotion besides surprise, Hitomi was already in her arms. She dropped a cloth she had in her hand to the floor. Her eyes were closed and there was a sad smile on her lips. Her daughter buried her head into her shoulder. Both were silent.

Van stood where he was, for the moment forgotten. This was Hitomi's mother. The mother she had left behind all those years ago.

Van felt a pang of grief unquenched by the years of loneliness since his mother's disappearance, but fought the emotion. He shouldn't think of it. He shouldn't think of what he wanted to do. What he wanted to ask of them...

How could he do it? Take her from her mother? This woman who had cradled and cared for her child before she was even born? How could he...

Another unwelcome thought crossed his mind as he watched them. _Is this what mother would have done if she had found Folken?_

He had not thought of his mother's sorrow for years. He had been too young at the time to understand her pain, unable to help her. Is this what she had sought when she left him all those years ago? To hold her first born son in her arms? Feel the warmth of Folken's touch? To know she had him back again, safe in her loving embrace? An unwelcome feeling of jealousy and resentment filled him. His own mother ha abandoned him to a life of grief to find a brother that had abandoned them both. Folken was gone now, just like his mother and father.

Van felt a chill down his bare arms. Hitomi's warmth felt far from him. He resented the feeling.

"Hi mom. What are you...making for dinner?" Hitomi pulled back from her mother and wiped quickly at her eyes. Her mother smiled a watery smile at her child and stepped back.

Van was surprised by a face almost the spitting image of Hitomi, about 20 years older. She had the same bend in the nose, the same pale complexion. She even had the same shape of the eyes, although hers were a light brown instead of the evergreen of her daughter's. She had the same laughter sparkling in her expression. She was oblivious to Van in the doorway.

"I brought a guest." She stepped back to Van's side, lightly touching his arm, though her head was turned to her mother. He felt goosebumps at her touch. The warmth spread the length of his arm. He let himself feel her hand's warmth for one selfish second, momentarily forgetting his melancholy and nerves. It was brief. He had to be courteous.

"Van Slanzar de Fanel, ma'am." He stepped forward and bowed low, lowering his head from her scrutinizing gaze. He had been told by Hitomi before they got home not to kneel or give his full title. She wanted to explain things to her parents later. He felt a slight apprehension he wanted to deny. The pendant swing on his neck and thudded against his chest. He felt a hand on his back and chanced a look up.

"Teruko Kanzaki. It's a pleasure." Hitomi's mother was smiling down into his face. Van blushed in spite of himself and stood straight. He was curiously quiet under her gaze. She took her fill. He hoped she would make no mention of his strange attire or the sword at his side. He didn't want a repeat of the rude boy on the ship. That wasn't what her eyes rested on, however.

Her eyes focused on the pendant around his neck. He felt a pull there so slight he would have thought it a figment of his imagination. He felt himself grow hot.

_She must recognize the pendant! Wasn't it Hitomi's grandmother's? Her mother's..._

"How long are you staying?" She smiled at him and moved back to the patties frying in the pan behind her. Hitomi stepped forward before he could reply. "I need to talk to you about that." Hitomi turned to him and gestured him to sit at the table behind him, a thing brightly lit by the harsh beams of that strange everlasting fire. He sat, still mute. Hitomi moved to grab her mother's arm and pulled her from the room toward the living room where he guessed her father was sitting. A second later he heard a harsh voice bark something and a moment later Hitomi's brother walked into the kitchen.

He didn't glance at Van when he entered and moved to the tall metal looking cabinet in a corner of the kitchen. Van watched him curiously. When the boy opened it, Van felt a swish of cold air escape the cabinet, and saw briefly strange packages and vegetables he had never seen on Gaea before the doors closed with a dull thump. The boy turned and walked straight toward him, but moved silently past him to sit on the other side of the table directly across from him. He had a seemingly closed cup marked in weird characters that he placed beside the plate in front of him. He finally looked directly into Van's face.

His eyes were green. His first impression of hazel had been hasty. They had to be the exact same shade of evergreen as his older sister, but a small halo of brown ringed the edge of his iris. He was also of a slightly darker complexion than his sister. He suspected it was due to a tan versus true natural hue. His expression was that of undisguised hostility and suspicion.

"Who are you? Why are you with Hitomi?"

Van felt none of the apprehension or nervousness that he felt with Hitomi's mother. Lady Kanzaki was an elder and mother of his... of Hitomi. This boy was neither.

Van was silent. His expression devoid of emotion. Sensing a challenging opponent, the boy attacked quickly with what must have been his best weapon, "Her boyfriend." He flashed a toothy grin.

_Of course I am a boy friend._ Van thought, misunderstanding the difference between the expressions. He thankfully didn't voice his thoughts.

Getting an undesirable response, the boy's grin faded, but his suspicion had not ebbed. He continued to stare Van down, but Van saw a slight pink tinge creep up his face as the seconds ticked by. His brow furrowed. His expression grew more hostile. His gaze dropped from Van's face. He recoiled. "Why do you have that?" He pointed to the pendant resting on the outside of his shirt. Van resisted the urge to grab the stone. He continued to stare mutely at the boy, whose expression went dumb. A question formed on his youthful features.

Van wasn't going to enlighten him. He'd stare him down all night if need be until Hitomi or his parents explained things to him. He wouldn't interfere.

A strange glint flashed in the boy's eyes suddenly, and the quizzing expression evaporated. He leaned forward over the table. A look fire burned behind his green eyes. "You're from the unseen place. The unseen heavens."

Van's carefully controlled face slipped. He couldn't hide his surprise. He was surprised by this boy more than he would like. _Does he have the sight his sister possesses?_

The boy's face showed a look of triumph. He had his answer. Van was saved a reply by the entrance of Hitomi and her parents.

He stood up quickly.

A new man entered with Hitomi and Lady Kanzaki. He was of medium hight and a bit plump, as if he was a well built man that had gone slightly to seed. He had dark hair and startlingly blue eyes.

Van bowed low again at his entrance. "Van Slanzar de Fanel, sir." He heard a snicker nearby. He ignored it.

"Ozora Kanzaki, young man." Van raised himself straight. Sir Kanzaki had moved closer to him and was smiling indulgently down at him. Van could see laugh lines on his face. He was obviously a well natured man. Before he could react, Sir Kanzaki moved with the speed of a much younger man and slapped a startled Van on the back. He laughed at Van's expression. "So, staying for a few days, huh? The more the merrier. You'll have to stay downstairs on the futon, though." He glared suspiciously at Van for a second and ruined it with a hearty chuckle. "Sit." He gestured to the seat. He sat.

Hitomi sat beside him. Her father sat at the head of the table and her mother moved away to get the food. After she had set the food down, she sat on the left of her husband. Her brother was still sitting across from him. He looked suspicious again. Van looked to Hitomi beside him. She smiled nervously at him. "Eat." She picked up the plate of rice in front of her and scooped up a bit and put it on her plate. She passed the plate to him. He decided for mimicry. He put a scoop onto his own and passed the plate across to the now glaring Hitsarugi. When he looked again, Hitomi had moved onto the strange breaded strips and scattered them onto the rice. She passed them onto him.

"So, Hitomi says you're a friend she met a few years ago," her father said, looking at him. Van nodded. "You a friend from school?" Surprised, Van glanced at Hitomi. Hitomi looked embarrassed but made no gesture that would help him. He shook his head. He had to think fast. Hitsarugi was completely ignoring the plate Van passed to him. "I met her outside school." Her father shrugged. "oh."

Van hazarded a look at her mother. _Surely she knew the truth?_ She had placed a hand on her husband and shook her head. "She met her at that camp she went to a few years ago, honey."

_What?_

Van looked at Hitomi. She quickly shook her head. Van looked back at his plate. Somehow a piece of strange breaded meat had been placed on his plate. He picked up his fork and knife and cut a piece to eat. It tasted flavorful and had a delightful crunch. The meat was of the same texture as the large bison outside the border of Austuria. He cut another piece and looked up again.

Hitsarugi was staring at him, his brow creased. He looked away to his sister when he saw Van looking at him. "What camp, Hitomi?" Suspicion crossed his expression again.

Hitomi looked irritated. "Be quiet, Hitsarugi." Her mother and father were talking quietly and didn't hear the exchange. Hitsarugi wasn't finished, though. "Father, did you see the clothes this guy," he pointed his fork at Van, "is wearing? What's up with that?"

If looks could kill, the glare Hitomi gave her brother would have ended his short life. Her father laughed. "I did see. What a strange Cosplay, Van. Who is it?"

"Huh?" He had no idea what he was talking about. Hitomi jumped in, before her father caught the confused expression on Van's face, "Some new show, dad. You wouldn't know it." Van's sense of confusion grew.

He went back to his food.

Her father had bought the strange explanation. He smiled. "No, I suppose not. There are so many today. I wouldn't know it if you told me." He turned to his food.

Hitsarugi wasn't satisfied. "Dad, you can't possibly believe-" He was interrupted by his father, who hadn't seemed to hear his son, "So no place to stay, huh? Where you from? How come you don't have a place to stay?"

_Her father hasn't been told anything?!_

He decided for a sliver of truth. "I am from a distant country, sir. I came here unexpectedly. I wanted to see Hitomi." He didn't look away from Sir Kanzaki's face when he said it.

Her father laughed. "Young love, huh?" He looked at his smiling wife. "I understand the feeling." Hitsarugi made a small sound of disgust.

XX

As the dinner continued, Van felt himself relaxing. He had a pretty good gage on Hitomi's family through it. Her father seemed genuinely kind hearted to him, loved his daughter and adored his wife. Hitomi's mother seemed quiet and had a air of natural maternal love for her children. She appreciated guests that praised her cooking. Hitsarugi did indeed seem annoyingly curious of him. He seemed to be trying to catch Van slipping up. Of course he understood the curiosities of youth.

After dinner, Lady Kanzaki told him to follow her. Hitomi and Hitsarugi were charged with clearing the dishes from the table. Her father moved off to the living room.

He was led down the hall to a closed door at the end of it, on the right wall. There were linens and a large futon staked neatly within. He bent to pick up the mat when Lady Kanzaki said, "I knew you would come." He stood straight and looked at her, surprised. He didn't know how he knew, but he did know she had a story to tell. He asked, "How?"

"Ever since Hitomi left, I knew she had been in that unseen world my mother spoke of to me as a child," Lady Kanzaki replied, grabbing the linens on the top shelf. She moved off to the living room. Van followed. "She had been gone for a long time. At times, I thought she would never come home. Then, one day I woke up and the day was the same as the day she left. For another few days I had to relive it all..." She was quiet. They had reached the main room of the house. Van heard the deep laugh of Sir Kanzaki on the chair facing a strange box with flashing lights. He didn't focus on the lights. Her story was intriguing. How had she reacted to her daughter's disappearance? He placed the mat next to the chair and Lady Kanzaki put the linens on top. She moved quietly to the door leading outside. Van followed.

Outside, the sky had darkened to a hazy navy. The stars seemed muted, as if they were behind a dirty window. The wind had picked up.

The back garden was small. Van saw a small bench on the patio and a small path leading through large trees off to the side of the house. A bird bath hosted a couple of birds he couldn't identify.

Lady Kanzaki had sat at the bench. He stood beside her, looking skyward. He was reminded of Hitomi's first day back in Fanelia, when he had almost kissed her. He didn't feel that wonderful sense of excitement now, but a strange peace, mingled with curiosity.

Lady Kanzaki continued, "After the relived days ended, Hitomi came home. She told her father and I that she had been to a track completion for a few weeks. Her father believed it, but I knew. I knew where she had gone." There was another small silence.

"She wasn't the same afterward. She was... sad. Every day I saw it. The light had gone from her eyes as surely as my mother's pendant had disappeared from her neck." She was quiet for a moment, seeming to steep herself in the memory. Van slowly gripped the stone on his neck, the stone cold against his palm.

"For two years she tried to hide it. She went on with her life, but not living. She was lost to a memory she couldn't share. I..." Van heard her shift. "I wanted to help her, but how could I? All I could do was let her tell me when she was ready. One day she was able to tell me. Tell me everything. She told me about you." Van looked down at her with questioning eyes. She was smiling sadly at him.

"Yes. She told me about what happened to her. About Escaflowne and Fanelia. About Zaibach. About the knight's and the princesses. She even told me about the man my mother met," she laughed, a clear little tingle like a bell, "she told me about his handsome son."

Seeing the look on Van's face, She stopped laughing, but the smile was calm, the sadness fading. "I couldn't believe it. My daughter in the same story as my mother? But how could I not believe? The way she looked at the sky after that, as if searching for that streak of light to take her away again..." She looked down, at her neatly folded hands. She sighed softly. An unseen insect chirped in the garden and the birds from the bath took flight.

"And now she comes home with you. The boy dragon slayer. The King. And I see the light in her eyes." She stood up when Van looked back at her, not even trying to hide his blush.

"Come sit. I'll send Hitomi to you. Don't worry," she added, "I'll keep Hitsarugi away from you two." She had correctly guessed his thoughts.

"Thank you, Lady Kanzaki." He struck his chest with his fist. "Thank you for everything." She smiled. "It's you I must thank for making Hitomi so happy." She touched his shoulder briefly. "Don't stay out here too late." She winked and turned away, going back into the house.

When she slid the door closed, Van sat, letting it all sink in. _So lady Kanzaki does know..._

He was still lost in thought when Hitomi came outside. She had a nervous little smile on her lips and a blush in her cheeks. She sat next to him.

"I'm sorry, Van. I know this must be a little overwhelming. I'm sure you hate this." She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry about Hitsarugi and dad. He wouldn't believe me if I told him where you're from. Hitsarugi is just a jerk. I'm sorry."

Van took her hand. "Don't be. I like them." Hitomi grimaced at him. "Even Hitsarugi," He laughed. Hitomi laughed with him and leaned toward him and put her head on his shoulder. He looked up again.

The wind rustled Hitomi's hair. The fragrance of an indescribable flower delighted his senses. He felt suddenly light. They were quiet, their fingers laced in Hitomi's lap.

How long they sat there couldn't be measured. The night grew darker, the sounds of insects in the garden faint. The wind chime by the door chimed it's little bell in a merry lullaby conducted by the wind.

Van felt at peace. He knew Hitomi felt it too. It was a peace he hadn't known before; a peace felt only when he was whole. When was the last time he just sat, enjoying the sounds of the world, the feeling of the wind in his hair? Could he remember the last time he enjoyed the feeling of another human presence? He never realized it before... the piece of himself that was always missing. The feeling of completion when he was with her.

He felt Hitomi's breathing on his shoulder, a warmth down his side from her heat. It felt good. He gently rested his head on the top of hers and his nose buried into the silky warmth of her hair. The fragrance of her was intoxicating. He heard a soft sigh escape from her and delighted in it. He closed his eyes briefly and breathed deep. After a moment, he pushed the hair from her forehead with his cheek and lightly brushed his lips against it. Hitomi tilted her head slightly back. Somehow his hand had come from her lap and was draped across her shoulders. He hugged her closer, her warmth spreading past just her touch. He felt the urge to turn her from her side to face him, to allow more access, and unconsciously she complied. He didn't think. Suddenly he was kissing her cheek, her nose, her chin. He felt the breath catch in Hitomi then. He slowly pulled back, but he was almost an inch close to her face. He opened his eyes.

She was looking at him with heavily lidded eyes. The light was sparkling behind their green depths. He saw the blush in her cheeks, but no question in her expression.

He felt the heat in his own cheeks but didn't move back. His felt like a drowning man; his breath was shallow. "Hitomi I..." He saw her dip her gaze to his lips. "Van." She closed her eyes. He didn't close his until he felt the warmth of her soft lips against his.

It was a feeling he had never felt before. The surge of blood that coursed through his body, the quick beat of his heart mingled with the excitement of fulfillment. Of what, his clouded brain couldn't describe.

_Her lips... is this her taste?_ Her lips had slightly parted and against his lips he felt the soft passage of her breath. A long unquenched fire blazed to life within him. His other hand had grasped her, and with his arms he half laid her against him. She leaned closer and made a sound of satisfaction. He opened his mouth and with his tongue laced the inside of her mouth. Her tongue came to meet his. It was soft, lacy. He leaned back, her weight on him, her hands against his chest, clutching his shirt.

For a few moments, or days it seemed to him, they sparred together, until she sucked his tongue, awakening his groin. He gasped involuntarily.

Somehow one of his hands had intertwined within her hair, the other holding her against him. A half formed thought spoke of a desire to feel her closer to himself, to be a part of her warmth and vitality. His oxygen starved brain cried for air. Her lips slowly closed and he pulled his tongue from her mouth. Their lips met again, though not as shyly as their first meeting. The taste of her was in him.

She pushed up a little and he unwillingly allowed the end of their first embrace. He took in another deep breath and sat up, lowering his hand to around her waist. She was still in his arms, her head resting once more on his shoulder. Her hands still grasped the fabric over his chest.

Finally conscious thought returned as he felt the uncomfortable pressure of his groin against his pants. He tried to calm himself. He took in gulps of the cool night air, the clean smell of her hair filling his lungs. He could her heavy breathing, knowing she was as effected as he was.

Somehow he managed to cool himself enough to calm down, though later he couldn't think how he achieved it. They were both quiet for a few precious moments, until he felt her smile against his shoulder. She spoke first.

"Your first kiss?"

He nodded in the nook of her neck, the blood rushing to his cheeks.

She laughed softly.

"Wow."

Van felt the heat return to his body.

XX

(THAT is why I couldn't go back to Gaea! Glad I didn't? I mean, I've been putting that off forever, but I wanted the perfect moment that wasn't ultra sappy or forced. I don't appreciate some fanfics(or stories, for that matter) that force an encounter simply for quick satisfaction. The characters must be ready for it. For Van and Hitomi, I felt their first kiss wouldn't be a blind rush o f passion. That was apparent in the series. Even at the end, when they are parting, they don't kiss. They aren't at the right point in their relationship. They're not ready. Hitomi had just realized her feelings, Van was still too shy to fully express them. For this chapter, I think they're FINALLY ready.

I got to say, it's been a long time coming.

If anyone cares to know, Hitomi's mother's name, Teruko, means "shining child". Her father, Ozora means "Big sky", which I thought fitting for his big personality and blue eyes, which are naturally rare in Japan. It was the only way I could logically explain green eyed children, though I would love to get a more scientifically accurate reason for the occurrence. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope I can update again soon. My Exams are almost over and I can enjoy more free time to write. The more people who review, the more inclined I will be to the pastime. Reviews please! No flames!)


	18. pain

(I'm back, but rather than explain my six month absence, let me get right to the point

(I'm back, and rather than explain my several month absence, let me get right to the point.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my meager story line with someone else's characters. Please don't sue me.)

Kio shuddered. The cool air of the outside did not penetrate the oppressive darkness of this hallway. He hated coming here. He had always been happier in the country, where his family was from. They didn't have much, but he had thought they got by okay. Until the day his mother told him to pack up. Next thing he knew, he was being hustled out of the only home he had ever known, and leaving behind the small family he had left and shipped to this godforsaken castle in this horrible city.

_Why did it have to end up this way?_

He was forced everyday to clean the main hall leading to the old throne room, and any other place he was ordered to next. It was a tedious existence. If he ever thought it could be better, different…

He paused from his work on the floor and sat up. He had scrubbed for longer than he could remember and his back was killing him. He had to stretch for a moment to get some weakness out of it.

The pause in his work allowed his mind to wander. He thought of his life where he lived before coming to the imperial castle. Living on the edge of Zaibach on the little farm his father built before the war.

His older brothers left when his father did, drafted into the Army of Iron right at the beginning of the Emperor's bid for global control over the people's desire. That was what his father told his tearful mother the day he left, "_**The Emperor knows what is right for his people. He wants every man to enter his own world, where he can be free to have his heart's desire.**__**" **_

What a lie.

Kio had watched helplessly as his mother contracted a fever that left her covered in sores, loosing what little excess weight she had, trying desperately to save their farm that Kio couldn't, try as he might, keep productive.

All of their neighbors slowly lost their family to the war. News would come from the capital daily of the glory of the battles they had fought, of the gains in secret weapons and tools for making something for the Emperor. Every day he prayed his two brothers Yuu and Kenta would come home and end this misery. He hoped his mother would live. He wished his father could come back to them and make it livable, all bearable again.

None of it happened. His brothers never lived to see him again. His father never came home. He had heard from a messenger that his father had gone to the siege against the capital of Freid. He hadn't returned.

He didn't get his heart's desire. He didn't keep his family. He lost it all.

Now I'm at the center of the misery. The Place where the entire world's madness began. All I can do is…Clean Floors.

He cursed silently, the small sound echoing in the darkness.

Suddenly, he heard the door leading to the hall open to admit someone. He hurriedly tried to stoop back to his work, but not before he heard the voice that made the back on his head stand up. The cool air that brushed past him from the outside no longer felt comforting. The darkness claimed it as soon as the door closed. He ducked down to the floor as the two men passed, aware that he had never seen one of them before, but fearful of the one that passed him directly, dwarfing the other man with his oppressive height and stature.

"Is Basram ready?" He said now in his deep voice, the lilt of eastern origins slipping out.

The sound was terrifying in that it was a voice of total and complete…emptiness. As if it was the very darkness that spoke.

Kio shook his head to clear his unpleasant thoughts and tried to work again. He dumped the water across the floor behind him and started scrubbing the floor as hard and quick as he could. He didn't want the men to think he was listening.

"I have a spy headed there now. They should be within the area by the end of the week, and then we can begin." The other man replied, his weak voice shook as he spoke, betraying his fear.

"I believe they can be convinced."

They stopped moving and stood together at the end of the hall, a small torch by the door illuminated the darkness there, furthest from Kio and his workspace. The dim light flickered eerily across the face of the smaller man, and Kio couldn't help but steal a glimpse of the man's expression. It was of terror, thinly veiled by a face of servitude; averted eyes, slight bend of the neck toward the ground, and slouch of the back. It was a gesture that Kio knew by heart and used every day.

I do not operate on a belief." The other man replied coolly.

The smaller man stepped a little back, almost as if he was recoiling.

"I want the weapon. Basram controls the most assets I need to begin my operation, and without their support, I cannot overthrow the council and regain the power over this…." The taller man stopped talking. Kio felt his heart sink.

He had unconsciously stopped scrubbing as the men started talking and felt more than regret as he watched the taller man walk toward him. He must have noticed the eavesdrop.

Kio knew his fate.

One of the palace servants told him on his first day here of the place called the "Hall of Destiny." A place where you learned and saw your fate play out before you in the "Emperor's eye". He had scoffed at the time, not believing the tale.

As the taller man grabbed him roughly by the hair and pulled him upward, he knew. He knew where he was going.

The man pulled him along the passage, all the way to the end where the other man waited.

"Open the door!" He ordered to the man cowering beside it. The little man obeyed without question.

Kio was ushered inside another room, completely dark and silent. The little man closed the door. The larger man released him.

Knowing better than to move, Kio waited silently as the terrible man moved away, and a moment later a flash filled the room, bathing it in an unnatural red light. Kio gasped as he took it in.

Across from the entrance stood a massive platform, suspended over a pit too large for Kio to comprehend. Above him stood an…

Eye. The eye of the Emperor.

Kio was struck by the terrible beauty of it, the orb that held the answer to his life and past happiness. The orb the color of blood that had been spilt for its birth.

Kio felt the blood drain from his face. He felt the breath leave him as the depths of the orb swirled within its confines. He felt rather than heard the cold dark voice beside him.

"Those who do not serve diligently and unceasingly meet their destiny savagely."

Kio knew. Looking above, he saw it.

His mother dying within a pool of blood at her own hand, beside his father and brothers' grave. His father's farm burned down for firewood by his starving neighbors.

He knew.

He would never get the desire of his heart. The warmth of his father's arms around him when he picked him up. The chuckle of his brother's when they played with him. His mother's touch of comfort when he was in need.

He saw it. He would die in darkness, and never feel the cool breeze ruffle his hair or see the stars and Moons' brilliant light shine down on him again.

The last words he ever heard were filled with malice and mockery, not comfort or hope.

"No one can escape their destiny."

He died in despair.

XX

Hitomi awoke to the most annoying thing in the world; her brother's annoying voice in her ear.

"Geez Hitomi! Get up!"

Hitomi swatted at the pest, her eyes still firmly shut.

"Hey!" Hitsarugi screeched on impact.

Hitomi smiled groggily and rolled to her side, prepared to return to her dreams of a puffy winged angel wearing red and tan.

"Hitomi! You have to go to school!"

"WHAT?!"

Hitomi jumped up, startled into action.

She was usually late these days, and her body had developed a mechanism for waking up and dressing in under 2 minutes. She busily shut down into this mode, completely forgetting the pesky other presence in the room.

"You're not leaving HIM here, are you?" He shouted after her already retreating back. She was already at the stairs before it hit her.

_Van!_

All of the events of the past week hit her like a ton of bricks. Van had come back. He took her to Gaea, and now they were both here, on Earth together.

She did a quick scan to see if he was in her room but only saw her brother.

_Where is he?_

She turned back and sprinted down the stairs without a backward glance. "Van!" She called, but only silence met her ears.

Once she saw that no one was in the living room, she dashed to the kitchen, her heart quickening at the sudden fear he was gone. That it had all been a dream.

Her heart sank when she got there. Her mother was there. Alone.

"Where is he, mom?" Her voice sounded panicky and breathless.

"He's out, Hitomi," her mother calmly replied, pouring some rice from the steamer into a small bowl. Sensing the tension in her daughter's voice, she turned to her with an encouraging smile, "With your father."

"Are you kidding me?" She couldn't believe it. He and her father… together. They were alone together in her world with no buffer between her father's piercing eyes and booming laugh, and Van's brooding confusion. It was like she'd woken from a beautiful dream and been plunged into a nightmare.

"Where did they go?" She whispered, collapsing into a chair as her brother sauntered in.

"They just went to the corner store to get some stuff for tonight." She turned back to her breakfast.

Her brother eyed her suspiciously, and poked her with one of his chopsticks. "You okay, sis? You look a little green."

She batted his hand away.

"When are they coming back?" She hadn't stopped staring at her mother, calmly sitting at the table now, eating. How could she be so calm?

"Not until after you're gone, dear." Her mother didn't look up.

"I'm not going to school." Hitomi replied, surprised.

"Yes you are," Hitomi almost got a chance for a rebuttal but was cut off by her mother, who said clearly without looking up to gauge her daughter's reaction, "if you want Fanel to stay here."

Hitomi's mouth hung open, stunned into silence. She heard Hitsarugi snicker.

_That's fine. I'll just skip and look for them. No big deal, right?_

"I've called your teachers with requests that you're looked after, Hitomi. I don't want you missing any more important tests like you have been. You don't want to fail."

Hitomi started to shake. Her mother had thought of everything. She had no choice but to hang her head and walk to the door.

Should she write a note saying where she'd gone? No. He wouldn't be able to read it.

She left reluctantly, hoping the day wouldn't get worse. She had a horrible feeling that with her father and Van together, it was against logic to hope.

XX

Van had no idea what to do. As much as he hated admitting it, he was intimidated by Hitomi's father.

He had woken early and was ushered out of the house before he knew what was really going on, and to his realizing horror, weaponless. He left his sword behind by the closet where his futon was stored.

His overbearing companion had spoke to him of needing assistance and Van had hurriedly obeyed. Now he was heading to a strange place in the strange world, following a man who had no idea who he was really traveling with.

"We'll need some food for tonight, if we have you as a guest," Sir Kanzaki was saying now, walking slightly ahead of Van through a steady stream of people, "I like big portions, and I don't know if you do too."

Van nodded, trying to keep up.

After a few minutes of his companion not speaking, Sir Kanzaki decided it was best to just be the one to talk, and so Van got a nonstop river of small talk as they made their way to wherever they were headed; Van supposed Sir Kanzaki liked it that way. He talked about the weather they'd been having, said hello to passing people Van suspected to be neighbors and talked about his job as a translator for a business Van had no way of understanding. Then, as they turned the corner, the personal questions began.

"Hitomi hasn't really talked about her track trip she had a few years ago," he started as soon as they stepped into a large indoor market with magically opening doors, "In fact, I don't _ever _remember her talking about it. Is this when she met you?"

Van immediately heard the tone of the conversation shift at this statement. _Is he trying to trap me? _It was best to be vague. He nodded again.

Sir Kanzaki stopped in front of a small pile of white, round vegetables that smelled like the same vegetables from the night before. He picked one up as he pulled a clear thin object from a display nearby. It puffed up when he shook it and turned into a bag. Van tried to hide his amazement.

"I take it you two became friends…makes sense that you would visit her."

Despite the smile on Sir Kanzaki's face as he turned to look at Van, the glint in his blue eyes was telling. Van didn't trust it.

Moving away, he headed for another pile of vegetables a little ways off, green ones that resembled gourds in Austuria. Van wondered what they were as Sir Kanzaki performed the magic trick with the bags again.

Van took the opportunity to speak for the first time, while Sir Kanzaki's expression and face were turned away. He knew it was a bit cowardly, but the conversation was throwing him on the defensive.

"She and I are friends. I'm just sorry I didn't get a chance to see her before now."

Hitomi's father didn't answer. He bustled off into another section of the indoor market, where strips of stange meat packaged in clear film where housed. Van felt a sudden chill and realized it was coming from the area where the meat was stored and displayed.

After picking out a small stack of meat to his satisfaction, Sir Kanzaki, still with his back turned to him, walked further along the row to lines of cartons, filled with little eggs of an unknown animal that looked more fragile than eggs back on Gaea. Sir Kanzaki inspected a carton before handing it gingerly to Van to hold.

"It's a pity you couldn't find the time until now."

The brief glance Sir Kanzaki gave Van before turning to another isle filled with little boxes and bags of grain was slightly hostile and mocking. Van wondered if he was supposed to see it.

Trying to hide his guilt, Van replied, "I live very far away. It has been hard to keep in contact with Hi- Miss Kanzaki." Van didn't want to offend her father by seeming to familiar with her.

Sir Kanzaki grabbed a few weirdly marked boxes and handed them to Van to hold. Again he moved away, this time headed for a row of moving tables toward the front of the front of the entrance. Waiting there were people in matching clothes of green and yellow, designed with the markings of the language he couldn't read.

Van put his things on the nearest table, and watched as the contents moved along toward the uniformed lady with fake looking red hair. She seemed busy with a man ahead of them in line.

"Why has it been so long since you've seen her though?" His intimidating companion asked, mimicking Van and putting his things on the the moving table, "and why visit now?"

The man ahead of them moved away and Sir Kanzaki moved up, not looking at Van but at the woman with red hair who smiled at him. He immediately started making small talk with her, not bothering to wait for an answer from Van.

Once everything was bagged by the red headed woman, Sir Kanzaki paid, leaving Van the task of holding the groceries as they headed back for the street.

Sir Kanzaki hummed an unfamiliar tune as they walked back to the residential street where Hitomi lived.

After the uncomfortable silence following Sir Kanzaki's question, Van couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean, Sir?"

Sir Kanzaki stopped walking. He turned around and looked at Van with undisguised anger that made Van take a step back.

"I mean, why come here now? She's just started to get over you, and you come here! What do you think this is doing to her?"

All signs of the humor from the night before were gone in Sir Kanzaki's face. He looked like a man that had seen suffering Van could only imagine, but knew it was because of him. Van knew this man had watched as his daughter suffered for years, and it was all because of him.

"I didn't come here to hurt her."

Van stood where he was, looking straight into Sir Kanzaki's dark blue eyes. He didn't blink.

"That's what you're doing. Don't you see that? Coming here was a mistake."

Hitomi's father turned again and walked up to his door, but Van didn't move.

"I'm letting you stay only because of her, but do anything to hurt her, and I won't think twice. You'll be gone from her life for good this time." He opened the door and stepped inside.

Van followed, setting his bags in the kitchen before walking upstairs to look for Hitomi.

Was he really hurting her by being here? He wanted to convince himself it wasn't true, but couldn't manage it. It made too much sense.

_I let her leave. I made her leave. All I wanted was for her to be happy, and I knew she couldn't be with me… So why am I here_?

He had come back for her. He had followed her here to Earth for selfish reasons. For his country. For his world. He was using her as a pawn for a new war of Zaihbach's making.

Worse, he did it because it was personal.

He wanted her. He wanted to have _all_ of her, not just a claim of friendship and camaraderie, but…more. He wanted to have something he couldn't say even to himself.

A selfish desire he had for her…to be with him, and to share all of himself with.

He got to her room, not sure what to say to her when he saw her, hoping she was sleeping so he wouldn't have to face her.

Sadly, different emotions replaced his dread and shame when he opened her door; those of surprise and fear.

She wasn't there!

(Okay, so that's the new chapter! I hope you all liked it, and thanks in advance to anyone who cares to review for this chapter. I know all of my fans have probably abandoned me, but I hope someone still has faith that I will finish this fic. I hope you all liked the introduction of Diaz, my main baddy. It has been too long sense anyone has really thought about the real threat over our characters, and I thought it would help to let him see the light, so to speak.

On a side note, don't worry about why they're on earth, because it is going somewhere. ALL WILL BE REVEALED! To all you Allen fans, don't worry, he'll show up next chapter, I promise!

On another, completely off topic note, go see _The Dark Knight_ because it's AMAZING!!

Anyway, please read and review, and no flames please. The more reviews, the quicker the update. Love you all!)


	19. the plot thickens

(Okay, I said I was going to update, and here I am. Updating! Let's see how Allen and company are doing on Gaea…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line and some original characters. Please don't sue.)

They were on their way.

After a day of planning, if that's what he wanted to call it, he was on his way back to Austuria, and later Basram.

He had left the day following Van and Hitomi's departure, rather than stay In Fanelia to oversee the stability of the government. It was already taken care of, thanks to Van's foresight.

The new leader of the government, until Van's return, was his adopted sister and member of the royal family, Merle.

The council did have some opposition to her gaining control of the government, but the new head of the council had silenced any fears about her and vouched for her leadership ability. Donte was adamant that she was up to the task. She had even won some allies on the council when she begun major changes to the security of the castle, including closing up the construction sites on some of the uncompleted wings until after Van returned. Kellia, the daughter of Gothel and presumed attempted assassin of Hitomi, had been left in the upper dungeon under guard.

Sadly, it was Allen's responsibility to insure that no other country besides Austuria knew the truth about it.

He had to go to Austuria and warn Millerna about this latest setback. And a setback it was. How was he going to keep this quiet outside of the Austurian royal family? And how many of the member s of Van's 

own Council could be trusted to keep silent? Above all else, how would he handle the growing threat of Basram, and the ever looming threat of Zaibach?

Overall, Van and Hitomi picked a horrible time to leave.

The girl that had accompanied Hitomi from the Mystic Moon had decided to stay in Fanelia, and Allen was glad of it. He didn't need another young girl following him around, and he believed that her Fanalian escort could take care of her, learning from past experience.

As he and his sister crossed the border from Fanelia into Arzas, the woodland country that led onto the borderlands of Austuria, he couldn't help but think that he might be in a little trouble if he were younger.

From what little he had seen of Miss Yukari, she was a lovely young woman. She had long chestnut brown hair that hugged her angular face in soft waves, and her warm brown eyes caught the light in a way that made it hard not to look into them. Thankfully she didn't have the same sense of adventure as her friend and follow him.

"When do you think we'll be home, brother?" His sister Celina jolted Allen from his musing.

"Soon. Only a few more days of travel and we'll be back in Palas."

They were traveling among a caravan from Arzas the next day, and Celina was looking forward to spending the night in the tribe of Wolf men. Allen figured it was her attachment to the Dog man Jajuka that allowed her to be so comfortable among the people of Arzas.

He watched his sister, who walked a little ahead of him, her short white dress billowing in the breeze she created through her quick pace. Her light hair caught the light from the sun, shimmering behind her. Over the past two years, she had let her hair grow from its short length, and he hadn't objected. Anything that would make her forget her years in Zaibach as another person, he would bless.

He still wasn't completely sure if she remembered it. She seemed so happy, so full of light and youthful life. Everything about those horrible years had seemed to disappear like a bad dream.

His father's abandonment, his mother's death and his sister's disappearance all had taken a toll on him as a child. It was as if the Gods had conspired against him to destroy everything he ever needed; his need to love and be loved. As he grew older, he sought women as a source of fulfillment, and for years that was his only consolation. Marline… she had been a light for him after all his years of darkness…

_But she wasn't mine_.

Marline had left him. She gave in to her duty as the oldest daughter of Asturia and married the Duke of Freid. It hadn't mattered that he loved her. That together, they could have made a happy life if she had been more honest with her father. All those years she had let him believe that she didn't take a part of himself with her, nothing that truly tied them together. It wasn't until after seeing her son that he realized he was wrong. Chid wore the ring Allen had given Marline the last night they were together, the night when he allowed himself to give in to his desire to be with her. He had finally discovered the truth, and now he had to live with having to deny it. I was years before he felt such a strong attachment to another woman.

His attraction to her sister had been like a cry for his sister and his lover all at once. She wanted every part of him, and followed wherever he led, tying himself inexplicably to him like there wasn't any other man for her. How he had held her, kissed her, felt her warm acceptance…she fulfilled him, provided a love that seemed unending.

In the end, though, she too gave in to her responsibility to her country and abandoned him like every other woman in his life. He couldn't help but feel resentment that she had allowed Dryden into her life. It was like everything they had shared was a lie.

Hitomi seemed different than Marline and Millerna. She was young, vibrant and loyal. She looked past his impossibly perfect shell to the imperfection within. He should of felt shame at her insight, but to his surprise, he welcomed it. All of his sorrow had finally been laid bare, and instead of running from him, she had understood. Everything about her… the way she smiled, the way she moved, her need to protect everyone around her, including himself, had been almost like having a caregiver again, someone to depend on. He had depended on her enough to ask her to spend the rest of his days with him. Even without his mother and sister beside him, she could be there. Allen would have locked her love beside him was lock gilded cage for the rest of her days. That was the only thing he would be able to do if she had said yes. He would do it to make sure she would never leave him.

But someone else needed her more. _She_ needed someone more. Crossing the stars didn't matter to her when it meant she could be with….Van.

Allen hoped she couldn't be what he needed. He convinced himself that she wasn't the one for him to see her be happy. Van couldn't function as a leader without her guiding hand.

But after all of the heart ache that had resulted from the war, there had been one silver lining. Celina had come back. Damaged, changed, corrupted by Zaibach as revenge against his father, but back.

Celina was here again. That was all that mattered.

XX

It was so easy to escape.

All Kellia had to do was befriend the man in charge of her imprisonment, and once she gained his trust, use it to her advantage.

The person in charge of her was an older man, and unfortunately for her, he was very professional in his work. Any time she tried to speak to him he ignored, and any attempt at her plan for escape foiled.

The day her father left, she was moved under guard to her cell in the completed dungeon. She was leg shackled to the floor beside her mat, and was allowed once to leave her cell for her personal problems, but otherwise left alone. Her only contact with the guard had been at the end of the day, when he brought her meal of bread and grain.

He came in through the door at the top of a flight of stairs, the hall lit by torches. He came in full Fanelian knight gear, the white of the armor dull in the dim light. He stepped in from of her cell with a plate and small cup, allowing her the privilege of taking the items through the bars. She watched him as he walked back to the top of the stairs, as far away from her as it was possible.

She had spent the day mapping the layout of her prison. In addition to her own cell, there were three other full cells on this wing of the dungeon, all lined up beside hers. The walls were bare and the cells seemed unused. From what she knew of Fanelia's recent criminal control, anyone caught 

committing a crime was locked here, but all criminal activity was for the most part minor, and the cells went unused. She couldn't see any way of escaping through the walls or floor, because they were knew and in perfect condition, no weaknesses she could manipulate.

_Only one way_.

She ate her food in silence, watching the unmoving man. Should she ty to kill him, or just slip quietly away somehow? Surely the man didn't deserve death, but he was in her way. How to get around him?

She waited until he came back for the plate the next morning, pretending to sleep.

The moment he stepped through the doors, she was on him. It was only moments before he was unconscious on the floor, and she was out the door. She headed up the stone passageway and out into the completed hall above. She didn't quite know her way around the castle yet, but she knew that if she headed for a window, she would know which way to head by the position of the rising sun and mystic moon.

The hall was quiet. For some reason, the security was lax around the holding cells below. It was a clear mistake on the guards' part, but Kellia applauded their stupidity. It made it so much easier to escape.

After running quietly for a few minutes, she finally spotted a window. She dashed up to it and saw the light from the sun. It was low, and she knew where to go now.

She ran past the window in search of a busier hall, or at least one with someone to get some information from before she was on her way. Would there be a small crowd of people in the mess hall, or one or two on the grounds? It didn't matter, because thankfully she needn't search out a target; he was entering from the end of the hall, and hadn't seen her yet.

Her prey looked like the perfect target. He was obviously a member of the council, because of the distinct, rich clothing that all his advisors wore during meetings. Her own father never removed his. This man looked to be in his mid thirties and a bit grouchy about something, but stopped moving when she rushed him. He tried to scream but she covered his cowardly mouth.

"Don't talk until I tell you to," she whispered to her captive, and he obeyed. She forced him back down the way she came, into the entrance to the hall leading toward the prison. He shook beneath her touch.

"I want some information. Where is the King?" Kellia wanted to be sure he was occupied with something else if she could make at least try for a getaway. She hoped he was with his biggest distraction, the woman from the mystic moon. It would give her ample time to escape. She was a bit surprised at her informant's response. He sputtered feebly against her hand muzzle, and said, "You mean you don't know?" She tightened her grip, and grabbed his arm to pull back forcibly behind his back. "I don't have time for your confusion. Answer the question." The man cried out against the pain in his arm, the warm moisture hitting the inside of her hand. It disgusted her.

"He's gone. Gone some…somewhere with the girl…" he coughed. The moisture in her hand grew. "I think they've gone…to her home." She released her hold on his face but not his arm. He wheezed and sputtered, but didn't scream. She took pity on him. She graciously knocked him out from behind, leaving his body at the foot of the stairs. She rushed past him back into the hall and toward the window, leaping gracefully out into the yard below. She had all she needed now.

She dashed toward the forest, the wind whipping her hair back. She felt the sun's warmth on her shoulders.

All she had to do was find her father, or get to her contacts along the way to Austuria. The whole world needed to know that the international council no longer had their weapons. Basram was no longer a part of their group, and the power of Escaflowne was no longer in their hands. They had neither the Fanelian King nor the Girl from the Mystic Moon to watch over them. Now was the time when they would know their weakness.

For a moment, she felt free.

(Okay, that's the end of the chapter, and I hope you liked it! I hope no one had forgotten about Gothel's little daughter, did they? I know we haven't seen her in a while, but she is an important part of the story. What did you all think of Allen's thoughts on his women troubles? I hope you enjoyed it. What's been going on in the mean time? Find out soon! Please read and review, and thanks especially to mysisterisasquijum and serenityrain2233 for sticking with me! Love all of you readers!)


	20. billions of little pieces

(0kay, I'm back! I hope you all didn't miss me too much. Onward with the story!)

Hitomi had had enough with school by her third period and had to flake out on the rest of the day.

It had somehow made it around school that Yukari was at home, nursing her wounds from her breakup with Amano sempai and wasn't expected back anytime soon. She hadn't been told this directly of course; she was her best friend and therefore not subjected to the gossip, but she had heard it in passing in all three of her first classes in hushed whispers. She hated that every voice sounded excited, and every speculation of heartbreak came from a female voice.

Amano had returned to the school after his senior year, two years ago, working as an aide to the gym teacher on his free days from the university. He had remained popular with the boys, who looked up to him as a role model of masculinity and maturity, and all of the girls pined after him, because of his blatantly romantic relationship with the captain of the track team. For two years he showed his devotion to her, showered her with love and attention, and was a favorite of all. Every girl outwardly praised it, while secretly wishing for an end to the romance, to snag it up for themselves.

The fact that Amano seemed to appreciate the attention angered Hitomi. Even though in the Earth's time frame Yukari and herself had only been gone a day, he seemed to be moving on unapologetically to the next girl. She hated his smiling face, detested his laugh and scorned the fake pity he leveled at his one time love.

"I loved her dearly," she remembered hearing him say during gym, her third period, to a girl who asked about his reason for the breakup, "But love dies, I'm afraid." Hitomi had been standing behind a ball rack at the time, tying her shoe and so wasn't seen, but she had felt chilled by the words.

What could have possibly happened between them to warrant such harsh words, yet softly spoken? She had been horrified to hear the tone of his voice. He sounded resigned; almost as if he had been the one that was dumped. It was worse than if he had said those words with malice or scorn.

She was surprised at the amount of hatred she felt for him at that moment.

_Was this the same Amano who had loved Yukari? The same man whom I thought I loved?_

She left as soon as the class ended, not even bothering to change out of her gym clothes. She didn't care if she was ogled on the train all the way home. She had to get home.

Despite feeling the apprehension for Yukari at being left behind on Gaea, and the hope that she would return soon to get her back, she was also happy. Happy that Yukari wasn't here to witness the death of her relationship. To suffer through the false pity, to outwardly smile while she broke on the inside.

Hitomi knew she had escaped.

_I want to see Van,_ she thought suddenly. Her hope for seeing his face was so intense she felt an almost unbearable pain in her chest. She quickened her pace.

She hoped that Van had spent the day at home, spending time with her mother, whom she knew would have questions about the world told of as a fairy tale to her by her mother when she was young. Of a romantic world filled with knights and kings, dragons and sorcerers, of a world filled with love and a secret magic. She had a hope that Van wouldn't go into the reality of his invisible world, that it was a dangerous place where angels perished amid flames and children saw the destruction of their homelands. Living the reality was bad enough, why tell her mother the real truth?

Then in horror, Hitomi recalled that _she_ had told her mother the truth. One day she had poured her heart out to her. The day when she had been feeling particularly depressed, because it was the anniversary of Yukari and Amano's first date. She came home early that day and slept fitfully until her mother came home. She had to tell someone her loneliness. Had to let someone in to her pain. How could she tell Yukari? She was happy. Seeing her being held by Amano, kissed in public by him wishing she had had a chance to kiss Van, feeling bitter regret that she would never feel Van's arms around her again and never taste him on her lips. Her feelings of jealousy that Yukari and Amano seemed so happy... It had... hurt.

She went to her mother and told her everything.

_Why have I remembered _that? She shook her head to clear it as she stepped off the platform and walked a little ways until she found herself on her street . Inwardly she thanked the designers of the rail system to put the platform so near to her home.

She wanted to see Van. She wanted to know he wasn't an illusion of her dreams, a figment of a imaginary world created in her loneliness. She didn't want to wake up and find herself alone in her room, dried tears on her cheeks. She was nearly panting as she ran up the steps of her home and stepped inside.

He was sitting on the floor by the television, staring into the screen from almost too close. His legs were tucked beneath himself as a cushion, and the pose was almost childlike. He had a strangely confused expression on his face as he watched what looked to be a comedy variety show. A woman was dressed in a skimpy bikini and being danced around by a short man in a ratty looking worn suit and big bow tie. The audience laughed at something in the background. She felt her heart lift when he smiled uncertainly.

"Van." She stepped into the darkened room and called to him in a soft voice.

He was still startled. He made a move for his right side, obviously forgetting he didn't have his sword beside him, or was standing up. He didn't sway or fall however, something Hitomi had expected of him. When he realized who had called him, his hostile face calmed, and even from this distance she could see the light in his eyes as he took in her appearance. "Hitomi".

He was on his feet by the time she reached him, but didn't touch her, though he did instinctively reach out for her arms, almost as if he wanted to enclose her in his. She could see even in the dim light of the television he was blushing. She felt the heat from her own blush. They both behaving shy after the kiss they shared the night before. It felt as if the air around them had heated by several hundred degrees, and the air had escaped the space between them. Hitomi took an unsteady breath.

"What are you doing?" She stepped back and looked down to the t.v. A commercial was blaring the effects of a laundry detergent. He moved back to stand beside her and looked down as well. "Watching this vision box. Your mother suggested it when I found out you weren't here." She chanced a look at him again and saw his look of confusion was back. "She said that they were real people." He watched the action of the screen again, seeing the variety show back on and the bikini clad woman was covered by animation hearts obscuring the screen. "They seem too small." He touched his hand tentatively to the screen. How are they caught in here? They can't hear me."

Hitomi stifled a laugh as she faced his usually hard face, now almost innocent and childish in it's confusion. It was endearing. She grabbed his shoulder.

"They aren't in the television, Van. They're a projection of real people that are the same size as us. They...create a moving portrait of the people and then project it across the air to these," she patted the top of the television.

Van's confused expression didn't change. "Are they moving right now?" He pointed at the woman in the bikini, who was dancing again. "No. This isn't a live show..." Hitomi shook her head. She didn't think Van would get it. Before now, she supposed she never questioned how the television worked. She guessed she just took it for granted. She was shook from her thoughts by another of Van's questions.

"Why do it?" He looked directly at her. Hitomi noticed his blush had gone.

"Because it's the main way of getting information to a wide audience. The head's of nations talk to their people this way, and getting news about what's going on around the world is all within the reach of even the lowest of the people."

Van's expression changed. It seemed contemplative, a little harder. He looked away to the screen again, the light flickering across his features. Hitomi resisted the urge to step back.

"How... how many people are in your country?" He still wasn't looking at her, and his voice seemed quieter. Hitomi felt a little awkward, but couldn't understand the feeling. It wasn't the question she expected out of the conversation. "Why?"

"Because..." Van touched the top of the television tentatively, near her hand, "why would a nation need to send information over wide distances and to many people? And I remember you talking about your people having a hand in government, and how their nation is governed. There must be many in your country to have a hold on such a strong government."

"Um..." _What do I say to that?_ "There is a lot of people in Japan." She paused, unsure if she should tell him the truth. She didn't want to frighten or alarm him, but she knew he'd want the truth. "Maybe 120 million."

"People?!" Van jumped back away from the t.v.

"Give or take a few," Hitomi said, giggling nervously.

He turned his surprised eyes her way, horror slowly dawning on his face. "How many people in your world?"

She saw his face, and for a split second, felt as if she couldn't tell him. But she had to.

"Almost 7 billion people."

Van's mouth gaped open, and Hitomi laughed outright.

"Are there even enough stars in the sky?" He fell back to the floor again, closing his eyes.

Hitomi sat beside him. He draped his arm across her shoulders and she felt her cheek graze his side. "No wonder you seem good with people and you weren't intimidated by me," He said taking her into his arms suddenly cradling her beside his warm chest, kissing her forehead once she settled. He made her blush again from the unlikely show of affection, "you've been around so many before." She looked into his face as he laughed. She laughed with him.

She had been around many in her life she thought. She had thought the world she occupied was so very big. It felt as if she had been engulfed by people. At the same time, though, she had felt alone, like a person adrift in a endless ocean. Van was like an island to her. Her refuge and her home, right here in his arms.

XX

Hitsarugi had run all the way back from school hoping for a chance to run into Van before his sister got home. His sudden appearance and strange behavior, coupled with his supposed origins and connection with his sister had many questions formed in his mind.

Unfortunately, Van wasn't alone when Hitsarugi got home. He was sitting in front of the t.v, his arm around his sister in the living room when Hitsarugi spotted them as he walked in the door. Hitsarugi was disgusted, and voiced it. "Gawd, get a room!" he yelled as soon as he set his bag down in the hall, slipping out of his shoes.

He watched in satisfaction as the young couple broke apart, both blushing.

"Where is dad?" He stepped into the room and forcefully sat between the two love birds on the floor. He had to bite back a laugh at the annoyed expression on his sister's face, and the anger on Van's face that he did little to hide.

"He left for his vocationafter we got back from the market." Van said, irritation permeating his voice. "You went shopping with my dad?" Hitomi looked apprehensive. Maybe it was because she was afraid of how their father would treat Van after showing up unannounced at their home, and staying for an undisclosed amount of time, or because he could be the reason(no scratch that, _the_ reason) Hitomi had become such a different person over the past two years.

"Did he rip into you?" He asked, making sure he put enough callous mocking in his voice as he faced Van.

Van was quiet for a moment, his reddish brown eyes piercing into his own. It was a little unsettling. The awkwardness Hitsarugi thought Van felt with his sister was non existent with his dealings with him, then. He looked determinedly back, trying to prove he wouldn't be cowed by Van's piercing gaze.

"He didn't do anything like that!" Hitomi retaliated, he voice a mixture of annoyance and fear. He felt her hit his arm but ignored it. He was still looking at Van, whose expression didn't change.

Hitsarugi had no way of knowing if it was the truth or not, but he tried to get a rise out of him regardless. He broke the eye contact and turned to his sister, an easier target. "What are you doing here in the very public living room with a strange guy? Think of my virgin eyes! He could be having his wicked way with you right now if I hadn't interfered!" He almost added the disgust he felt to his tone again, but didn't. He did keep a mocking tone though and pulled a face.

Hitomi looked livid. The vein in her temple above her eye was bulging, like his father when he was mad. His desired reaction achieved, he turned back to his real target to gage his reaction, only to be met with empty air. He glanced back to watch Van walk down the hall, presumably to the linen closet. He turned back to the tv for the sake of distracting his sister, but was very aware of the sound of Van's movements in the hallway. He heard him pick up something, close the door, then move back into the living room. "I'm going out to practice." He said as he opened the back door. Hitomi didn't say anything, but she looked back and nodded, a slightly apologetic look on her face.

When he was gone, Hitomi wasted no time. "What is your problem?" She turned back to him.

"I don't like him. He just pops up out of no where and I'm supposed to accept it?" "It isn't up to you!" she replied, the anger evident on her face. "No. It isn't. It's up to dad. And by the look of things," he added, smiling, "he won't be here long."

Hitomi was silent for a moment huffing angrily, then she got up too. She followed Van outside, mumbling something about 'annoying little brothers' as she stepped out onto the back patio. Hitsarugi sat back and looked to the tv screen again, but couldn't concentrate on it.

_Why did Hitomi have to bring him here? What made him such a great guy that she would be willing to abandon her family? Why did he have to mean so much to her_?

He remembered how Hitomi was before her disappearance two years ago. She was happy. She was annoying and funny and ...she was herself. Everything had changed. Why? because of a guy? A guy who had obviously broke her heart and left? He didn't care if he was from some magical world spoke of by his grandmother in bedtime stories. He was no prince. He was a murderer. He had killed his sister's spirit.

Hitsarugi hit the floor rather forcefully in his frustration. He could feel his heart beating faster. His sister must be an idiot. The look of acceptance and attraction she had showed that jerk made him sick. She really seemed to care about him. The way she cuddled up to him, totally forgetting what she had been like when he wasn't around!

He got up and crossed the room toward the stairs. He was going to go upstairs to get some work done for school. Maybe focusing on algebra would get his mind off things.

As he passed the back door he couldn't help but glance outside to the young couple. To his surprise, he saw his sister was alone.

Hitomi was sitting on the bench alone, looking out to to the middle of the yard, a look of admiration on her face. Hitsarugi had to open the door a little to see where Van was, knowing he was somewhere in the yard. He spotted him standing a little close to the big cypress tree near the west fence, his back turned from Hitomi. Curiosity getting the better of him, he stood to watch to see what Van was doing.

He was standing with his feet braced apart and his arms raised, but Hitsarugi couldn't tell from his vantage point if he was holding something or not. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Hitsarugi watched in rapt attention, waiting for Van to move. He seemed to be standing almost too still. Suddenly Hitsarugi felt through the door a sudden gust of wind. It was then he saw Van move. He brought his arm downward in as swift movement almost too quick for Hitsarugi to see, then brought his arms up and outward, facing his left side. All Hitsarugi had heard was the sound of the wind and the tinkle of bells hanging on the patio above his head. When Van had shifted, Hitsarugi could finally see that he was indeed carrying something.

In his hand he held a long, gleaming sword, the sharp blade catching the setting sun. All around Van leaves fell in tatters, as if cleaved in two.

Hitsarugi took a step back in alarm, almost tripping on the hall rug as he stepped back from the still open door. Van was turning to face Hitomi, who had stood up smiling at him. Van's expression was calm, serene. He dropped the sword gracefully to his right side with his left hand, cleanly sheathing it into something at his side that Hitsarugi couldn't see. Van was striding back over to Hitomi, who had her arm outstretched to pat his shoulder. She was saying something Hitsarugi couldn't hear.

Fearing detection, Hitsarugi quietly closed the door and would have moved away if he hadn't realized his movements would attract attention. Van looked back to the house, his eyes suddenly cold and direct, and Hitsarugi could see them meet his own, his gaze burning into his own like a pair of razor sharp knives.

Hitsarugi almost chickened out and ran away, but remembered then that he was the only sane voice in his family for his sister's well being. So he stepped outside and headed straight for Van.

"What are you doing?" He stepped within a few feet of Van, his thoughts of self preservation getting the better of him again. Van looked down to Hitomi, who turned a disapproving eye on him, but Van was the first to speak. "I'm training."

Hitsarugi tilted his head and stared. Was this guy for real? "With a real sword? All you can do with it is trim the hedges?"

Van breathed a sigh of exasperation. Maybe he'd struck a nerve.

"I thought you knew where I come from. What I'm doing should make sense then." Despite himself, Hitsarugi showed his surprise at the fast comeback.

"What if I said I don't really know who you are, or where you come from? I mean, you haven't exactly been forthcoming."

Van surprised him once again by smiling, although not a full on one. It was just a crooked slant of his mouth that seemed more mocking than anything. Before Hitsarugi could recollect himself though, Van had stepped back, closer to the tree. Hitomi was silent. He grabbed the hilt of the sword, sheathed at his side. Suddenly, in one swift motion, he had drawn it out and whipped it through the air just as a leaf fell from the tree above his head. Hitsarugi felt the blood drain from his face as he watched the pieces fall to the ground at his feet. When he chanced a look up again, it was to see the sword held perfectly still, horizontal to Van's chest, directly in front of him. Hitsarugi felt the chill of sweat on his back as the wind picked up again, but the sharp blade in Van's hand did not sway.

"Do you really want to know?" Van asked, his eyes boring into his again. The crooked smile hadn't left his face. He deftly lowered his sword once more, and Hitsarugi tore his gaze away from Van's to watch the sword's movement.

Before it was covered, Hitsarugi caught a glimpse of a crest at its hilt. Within the crest was a splash of red background with a golden head at the center, shaped like an undefinable animal with red eyes, and between it's eyes sat the engraving of a winged snake coiled in a backwards 's'. The hilt of the sword looked obviously very old, but gleamed like the metal of the blade, as if it was made from the finest metal or gem, unharmed by the centuries of it's use. Hitsarugi was forced to believe it was a very expensive item, highly treasured by it's owner. The questions of who this person could be multiplied, along with his apprehension as he watched the crest disappear from view behind the royal blue casing at Van's hip.

_There's only one way to find out who this guy is_. Hitsarugi nodded his head.

Van closed his eyes briefly, then strode up to Hitsarugi. He patted him rather forcefully on the shoulder, gripping it for a small time. "Maybe some other time."

Annoyance getting the better of him in this show of condescension, Hitsarugi brushed Van's hand away. "Maybe I'll figure it out for myself."

Hitsarugi turned and fled as quickly as he could, forgetting for a moment his resentment for the man standing in the back garden with his sister. He felt nothing then but a mixture of fear, obeisance and curiosity.

He would definitely have to keep an eye on Van Fanel. Maybe he was more than just a wayward boyfriend.

_He's trouble._

(Okay that's the end of that chapter. I hope you all liked it. I'm going to be writing another chapter pretty soon, and this one will probably be on Gaea. I don't know yet whose point of view I want...Maybe some suggestions from readers would help me out a bit. I hope ya'll will read and review! I do love the feedback. A special thanks to my last reviewers tear-drowned-angel and Arisuke for reviewing and reminding me that I still have readers who would like to know the ending I have planned for our favorite Esca characters! And for anyone interested in the way The crest on Van's sword looks, just go here:

.

Oh, and on a completely different note, I just turned 21!!!! YAY!! Drinking age finally, for anyone who might not know, and I am enjoying a few days off in celebration!

As always, thanks for reading!)


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